The son of Orioles coach and former manager Cal Ripken, Sr., the brother of Cal, Jr., and the nephew of minor league outfielder Bill Ripken (1947-49), Billy played way above his abilities in his first season, hitting .308 in 58 games for his father. Showing good range afield, he remained Baltimore's regular second baseman in 1988 despite hitting .207 for new manager Frank Robinson. Released in December 1992, he played only 245 games over his final six years. Billy never matched his brother's durability, taking a total of 12 trips to the disabled list during his career. (ArB/JFC/JT)
Contribute your recollections of Billy Ripken by clicking here.
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»July 11, 1987: Billy Ripken, 22, joins his brother Cal Ripken in the Orioles starting lineup in Baltimore's 2–1 loss to the Twins. Orioles manager Cal Ripken, Sr. is the first to manage two sons in the majors.
»September 15, 1990: Despite solo homers in the 5th by brothers Billy Ripken and Cal Ripken, both off David Wells, the Orioles lose 4–3 to Toronto. The Jays score three in the bottom of the 9th on Kelly Gruber's home run to make a winner of reliever Willie Blair. The brothers Ripken will homer together one more time, in 1996, again in the same inning.
»May 28, 1996:
Cal Ripken powers three homers, good for eight RBI, to lead the Orioles to a 12–8 win over Seattle. Ripken hits a pair of two-run homers and a grand slam, tying him with Eddie Murray as the O's career home run leader with 333. Brother Billy Ripken also homers in the same inning with Cal, and Brady Anderson (19), Rafael Palmeiro, and Ken Griffey, Jr. (18) add homers as both teams total 24 hits.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
