Biography
Billy Ripken, the brother of Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken and the son of former major league manager Cal Ripken Sr., had a productive career as a second baseman. Four years younger and three inches shorter than his more famous brother, Billy was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, the family team, in the 11th round of the 1982 amateur draft. He made his debut with the club on July 11, 1987 and had a career lasting 11 years and 2 days for four teams, including two stints with the O's and the Texas Rangers. He was mostly a utility infielder, playing a minimum of 100 games in only five seasons. In only one year, his sophomore season in 1988, did he play what can be considered a full season, 150 games and 512 at bats; however, he only batted .209. His next closest "full season" was 1991, when he led the team in batting with a .291 average in 129 games and 406 at bats. He had 118 hits (in only one other season, '88, did he break the 100 hit threshold). He was a good gloveman, leading all keystone sackers in the major leagues in fielding percentage, with .993% in 1992 in 108 games at second, after committing only four errors. However, the Baltimore official scorers were known for their extreme generosity with the Ripken brothers, and no one would ever accuse Billy of being the second coming of Bobby Grich.
Billy Ripken was released on July 13, 1998, with a .247 career batting average and 647 hits. Big brother Cal, the 1982 American League Rookie of the Year and 1983 Most Valuable Player, meanwhile, racked up 3,184 hits, including 431 home runs, while driving in 1,695 and scoring 1,641 runs, as well as set a record for consecutive games played. You can look it up.
Billy's father, Cal, Sr., remains the only major league manager to manage two sons on the same team in the same season.
