Ryan Ripken’s father owns the Aberdeen IronBirds, a short-season Class-A team affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles that plays its games at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.
Maybe --- just maybe --- the fact that his father is former Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr. was a factor in the Orioles signing the 23-year-old Ripken to a minor-league contract on Friday. While the rosters have not been finalized for the Maryland-based club, Ripken is all but certain to be one of the oldest players on the team, and his baseball resume has been fairly pedestrian to this point.