Cal Ripken coming back, what do you think?

by miskatonic86 on Aug 10, 2011 9:32 PM EDT

You may or may not have read in The Baltimore Sun that Cal Ripken has expressed a quote, "itch," about rejoining Major League Baseball in a front office position. This will certainly be very encouraging to those of us who want Cal to buy the O's from the Imperial Emperor-lookalike, I mean Peter Angelos. I want to know you're take.

I think this is promising. Realize that many of the young players in their prime, that may or may not be free agents, were born in the 80s. Most likely, they started playing rec. league baseball in the '90s, where "Iron Man" Cal was not only one of the greatest baseball players ever, but also probably one of the last honest people to play the game. Which means, Cal Ripken was an athlete that kids could easily look up to as a role model. I played rec. league baseball in the 90s, I was born in 86, and I loved Cal growing up. These young players in the league are around my age. They saw the greatness in call.

Why I mention this is because these players also, like me, grew up watching Cal play the game. Which means, as long as Angelos forks up the money, they would WANT to play for Cal as a general manager. Who wants to play for Andy MacPhail? I think the last time Andy watched ESPN, Dennis Miller was on "Monday Night Football," so at least we would have somebody who...I guess...actually....KNOWS how modern baseball is played? KNOWS that you gotta spend and fix the farm system? Cal has devoted the last ten years to rookie baseball, so that is a good asset.

Look, Nolan Ryan recently became the GM for the Texas Rangers, and look at what they're doing now. This could be a blessing. I doubt that Cal is going to BUY the team, much like what the Facebook and twitter universe wants real badly. However, he can work as a GM. I could get my Labrador to run the team, and he would be smarter than Andy MacPhail. My take: Only time will tell, but I think he can attract free agents with his Hall-of-Fame credentials and legacy. Let's see if Mr. Angelos will spend the money, which is vital in the AL East. Hopefully Cal will be smart to know that Angelos is too absent, too old, and too uninvolved and the smart thing would be to sell the team to someone who ACTUALLY cares.

Poll

What do you think of Cal potentially become the next GM?

Great idea!

25 votes

Not sure, time will tell

10 votes

Bad, idea. It won't work. Look at Michael Jordan in Charlotte

11 votes

At least it isn't MacFail

2 votes

General Manager? Maybe he should set his sights on BUYING the team.

29 votes

Indifferent.

5 votes

82 votes | Poll has closed

FanPosts are user-created content and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of Camden Chat or SB Nation. They might, though.

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Comments

Wow, there are so many things wrong with this.

by SeanP on Aug 10, 2011 10:45 PM EDT reply actions

And I'll start with a few of them.

1) What reason is there to think Cal would be a good GM? I love him as a player, but that doesn’t mean he’d be a good GM. Would he invest in Latin America? Would he revitalize the farm system? Does he have an understanding of sabermetrics?

2) The example of Nolan Ryan turning the Rangers around as GM kind of fails when you realize that he isn’t, you know, their GM. Jon Daniels appears to be a talented GM and I believe he’s been in Texas before Ryan bought the teams. Daniels, meanwhile, is an example of the type of GM we should get.

3) The author has a strong tendency to spam the Fanposts section.

by ahoque24 on Aug 11, 2011 2:04 AM EDT up reply actions

This doesn't seem like spam

He’s posted five fanposts in 28 days, which really isn’t that many. Just because you don’t agree with what he wrote doesn’t make it spam. All of his fanposts have substance.

Giraffes have absurdly strong necks.

by Stacey on Aug 11, 2011 7:18 AM EDT up reply actions

Ah, I was just thinking back to when he wrote two or three in a few days.

Didn’t realize that he eased up on writing them and that these aren’t the one paragraph posts that could just be comments in Bird Droppings. Or RavensCapsOs posts about how he’s a White Sox fan now.

by ahoque24 on Aug 11, 2011 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't understand

Wasn’t MacPhail a Daniels-esque GM?

I’m not necessarily advocating a Cal-as-GM proposal, but at the least I’d love him to lead a group to buy the team and bring some real excitement and total change to the organization

by ZHFrost on Aug 17, 2011 11:42 PM EDT up reply actions

MacPhail is a traditional baseball man.

Hell, his family has been in baseball forever. Daniels is the youngest GM in baseball, part of the new blood running teams. Perhaps the biggest key difference: the Rangers are big international spenders (correct me if I’m wrong) and the Orioles, obviously aren’t. I wouldn’t mind Cal as an owner if he hires the right GM.

by ahoque24 on Aug 18, 2011 2:23 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't know much about Daniels or the Rangers but

I really feel like the Orioles culture under Angelos is so filled with perennial losing that we need a total overhaul… starting with him.

We need a new regime that actively pursues Latin American ball players and we need some fire and excitement at the big league level

by ZHFrost on Aug 18, 2011 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

My lord...

…is “when Dennis Miller was on Monday Night Football” now some bygone era? Seems like it was just a couple years ago.

I mean, I am still surprised that Monday Night Football is on ESPN. Heck, I’m still surprised that Dennis Miller is almost unbearably unfunny. And that’s only maybe a decade old.

To be understood is to be a prostitute. ~ Fernando Pessoa

by James F on Aug 10, 2011 11:44 PM EDT reply actions

"They saw the greatness in call."

I’m stuck on this line.

by Luke E on Aug 11, 2011 7:31 AM EDT reply actions

nolan ryan is largely a figure head

hes a natural leader whose job is to fire people up, which he does well. i highly doubt he makes many actual decisions. cal may have been a great player, but there is no reason to think hes gonna be a great GM.

עם ישראל חי

by nodisrespect on Aug 11, 2011 11:47 AM EDT reply actions

I like Cal Ripken.

I like what he stands for; how he approached the game; and the fact that he was the best player on my favorite team for the entirety of my childhood. I would love it if he returned to the Orioles in some capacity.

That being said, I’m not sure that capacity is General Manager. I’d rather have a general manager who knows the business end of baseball, and has a knowledge of modern statistics and a knack for deal-making. Could Cal be that someday? Sure, he is a man who has the work ethic to do whatever he sets his mind to. But he isn’t that person today. I’d rather he be offered a figurehead position deep in the back offices of the warehouse and learn the business from our next GM, who will hopefully be the kind of guy we want calling the shots. If he takes to it, and likes it, and is good at it, then sure, he could be GM in 5-10 years. He’s only 50 (at least for a couple more weeks), no need to rush him along.

As far as owner goes, if he has the money and desire to buy the Orioles, which I doubt in either case, and Angelos wants to sell, then sure why not. It won’t make the team any better, at least not in and of itself. But since I love this team, and continue to spend money on their product and merchandise even though they suck at life and also sports, then sure I guess I’d rather hand my dollars over to Cal. I don’t hate Angelos on a personal level like some people, but I also didn’t have pictures of him winning a sweet lawsuit up on my wall as a kid.

"Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand.."

by tflach2 on Aug 11, 2011 12:11 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

I'm indifferent

and that basically goes back to my feelings about Cal. Was he a good player – yes, and he did a lot for the game at a time when fans were disillusioned because of the strikes, but I don’t know that he will make a great GM. He doesn’t have the experience, at least not yet (remember Mike Flanagan as GM??). I’d rather see him in a coaching postion or some other front office position. Heck I’d much rather see him as the owner of the team, but I don’t see that happening as long as Angelos is alive.

All that said, I was never a huge fan of Cal. I think there were much better baseball players and I think there were better defensive shortstops – Mark Belanger for one.

The person who introduced Andrew to baseball and the O's

by QTess on Aug 11, 2011 3:08 PM EDT reply actions

there weren't many better baseball players...

cal ripken’s greatness is (or ought to be) essentially undisputed and while the difference between cal and mark belanger defensively is probably not as great as you might think, it would take several mark belangers to equal cal’s offenisve output.

"the secret to a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits"

by j.q. higgins on Aug 11, 2011 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions