MLB Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. has shown interest in returning to the game, possibly as a manger, and in a recent interview Ripken credited Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly for sparking his interest in mulling a return to the game.
"I have thought about how cool it would be to manage," Ripken said per ESPN. "And even Donny Mattingly got me thinking about this a little bit more. He said there's nothing like being a player and coaching is pretty good because you help other people do what it is that they do."
Ripken has spent the last 10 years managing his company, Ripken Baseball Inc., after retiring from baseball following the 2001 season. The closest he's gotten to stepping back into the game has been working as an analyst for TBS during the MLB postseason.
Ripken says he believes that managing is as close as he can possibly get to the diamond without being an active player.
"Managing is the closest thing to being a player, and I've always thought that anyway, internally. Now I'm starting to think about that a little bit more," he said, according to ESPN.
Rumors have circulated about Ripken ending up managing the Washington Nationals, which would make sense given their close proximity to Baltimore where he spent his historic career with the Orioles. The rumors intensified when outfielder Jayson Werth said that Ripken would be "my No.1 choice," if he had to select a new manager after Davey Johnson, 70, retired at the end of this season after two years with the team.
Ripken acknowledged the comments by Werth publicly.
"I have said that at some point I'd like to come back to baseball," Ripken said of Werth's comments, via ESPN. "And most recently, I said that I'm starting to get an itch to do that. But I'd have to look hard at any opportunity, and so far, I haven't been asked to do anything. So it's very flattering that people think of me that way."
The Nationals went a disappointing 86-76 this season, finishing in second place and missing the playoffs just one year after winning 98 games and reaching the postseason for the first time ever since their move from Montreal.
The Nationals aren't the only team in need of a manager as the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners are also looking to replace their skippers this season.
Despite all of the need for new managers around the league, Ripken says there have been no offers thrown his way.
"So far, I've got nothing new to report," he said via ESPN. "But that's been the consistency, that I've made those statements. And I am getting a feeling that maybe I'd like to get back in."
While his managerial resume remains blank, the one for his career is monumental. Ripken played 21 seasons in a Baltimore uniform, and appeared in 3,001 games while also playing in a record 2,632 straight games--earning him the nickname of baseball's ironman. Ripken leads the Orioles all-time in hits (3,184), home runs (431), RBIs (1,695) and runs (1,647).
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