The return of You Know What Face

by SC on Jul 7, 2008 8:01 PM EDT Comment 15 comments

Press release excerpt:

MASN, the television home of the Balimore Orioles, has announced that Billy Ripken, former Oriole and brother of Cal Ripken Jr., will serve as a color analyst during the network's pre and post game show, O's Xtra, from July 8th through July 10th.

Ripken brings decades of experience in professional baseball and the Orioles organization to the O's Xtra broadcast. He will join veteran Orioles broadcaster Tom Davis in the studio for the entire series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Oh man.

Billy was one of the worst hitters you'll ever see on God's green earth, yet somehow hit .290 in 1990, which led the Orioles (456 plate appearances).

I suppose his most memorable season, though, had to be '88. Billy was a key factor in those O's being as horrible as they were. Yeah, the guy could pick it a little, but he hit .207/.260/.258 that year, and he was an everyday player, good for a 48 OPS+ and a .191 EqA. Just an awful, awful season, so bad that you have to appreciate the fact that he continued to run himself out there thanks to his last name.

But I'm not really trying to hate. It's just that if you talk about Billy Ripken, it's hard to not talk about his horrendous '88 season.

Get ready for some wacky insight!

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Could this be a tryout for future gigs?

Can’t be worse than Davis/Johnson/Dempsey/Hunter, really. He’s on XM quite a bit on Ripken Baseball, also fills in on the Baseball This AM and The Show on a regular basis. He’s not too bad. Often veers into the typical baseball cliches we all love so much, though.

"We’re not concerned about what other teams think. I know teams come in here thinking we’re playing the Orioles. And then 9 innings later, they got the loss, they know what we’re about." ~Adam Jones

by Stacey on Jul 7, 2008 8:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

of course he does

He made a career out of people believing them.

"Yesterday I was lying, today I am telling the truth." -- Bob Arum

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Jul 7, 2008 8:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like him on XM

But yeah, he kind of relies a bit much on “common wisdom”. Whatever; all analysts do, for the most part. Some just sound more convincing than others. Billy is probably somewhere in between.

Speaking of XM 175, have you ever wondered when/if Buck Martinez sleeps?

by PhilR8 on Jul 7, 2008 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

haha

Buck Martinez needs not SLEEP.

"Yesterday I was lying, today I am telling the truth." -- Bob Arum

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Jul 7, 2008 9:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

billy ripken...

is definitely a baseball personality. i’ll bet he’s not bad on the stick, if not terribly enlightening. denny hocking co-hosts a show on fox sports radio. what a waste. i mean, he speaks english and isn’t mentally disabled, but he has a critical personality defficiency.

foghat goes with everything--birdman, 5/16/08

by j.q. higgins on Jul 7, 2008 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Billy on XM radio

He’s not on there much but I didn’t have a problem with him when I heard him.

Wolf, wolf, wolf.

by birdman on Jul 7, 2008 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

oh one thing I don't like about Billy

When he’s interviewing someone, he never asks questions. He always says, “Tell me about…” Tell me about batting against Roger Clemens. Tell me about playing for the Twins. It’s effective, I suppose, but it gets on my nerves.

by Stacey on Jul 7, 2008 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

doesn't cal do the same thing?

Wolf, wolf, wolf.

by birdman on Jul 7, 2008 11:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Does he?

I’ve only listened to Ripken Baseball a handful of times (not usually listening Saturday mornings) so I’ve never noticed. I don’t enjoy if he does it either. It’s weird.

by Stacey on Jul 8, 2008 12:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sure, I think Cal does that too.

Wolf, wolf, wolf.

by birdman on Jul 8, 2008 2:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Billy taking Hunter’s place on Sundays would be worth it, I think.

by getxstoked on Jul 7, 2008 8:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

you could put Hank Steinbrenner

on Sundays and it would be worth it if it killed the streak

by math_geek on Jul 7, 2008 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

re. "he guy could pick it a little"

Say what you will about his stick – and he made Mark Belanger look like a Silver Slugger – you have to give Bill a lot more credit than simply “pick[ing] it a little” with his glove. The man played a mean second base. That said, I’ve always thought it fitting that one of his most memorable “offensive” moments simply involved getting beaned in the head in game 22 of the ‘88 season in Chicago.

by dtl on Jul 7, 2008 11:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

great snippet...

from an SI article from his rookie year:

No, they needed a kid who never shuts up in the infield, who bunts, moves runners over, cajoles walks, fields his position, makes the double play and wanders around the clubhouse in a constant babble. Pitcher John Habyan calls Billy the Nuclear Dish because “he has an endless store of energy.”

“nuclear dish” has to be one of the best o’s nicknames (picking up on a dan connolly themes from this week).

foghat goes with everything--birdman, 5/16/08

by j.q. higgins on Jul 8, 2008 9:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs