Cal Ripken Jr. might just be the kind of franchise-shaking move the Washington Nationals need at this point in their history. And one other thing. He has a chance to be a great manager. He checks off most of the important boxes: knowledge of the game, tremendous communication skills and a face-of-the-franchise presence.
There's always an unknown quantity when a guy hasn't done it before. No candidate is perfect, but Ripken is close. He'd almost certainly bring his brother Billy along as bench coach, which makes his candidacy even more appealing.
One knock on Ripken -- and it's a fair one -- is that he hasn't managed or coached in professional baseball since he played his last game in 2001.