Cal Ripken Jr. is on another streak

In 2002 he bought what is now called the Aberdeen Ironbirds, the Orioles’ rookie-league team. To house the Ironbirds, Ripken erected 6,000-seat Ripken Stadium; later he added several gorgeous youth fields modeled after famous ballparks like Camden Yards, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. “On one side of the complex you have the dream," he says. “On the other you have a place to learn how to achieve it.”

Teaching kids is Ripken’s deepest passion. At the Aberdeen complex, he and brother Bill run summer instructional camps for players as young as age 5, teaching baseball “the Ripken Way.” Recently Ripken broke ground on a little league tournament complex in Myrtle Beach, S.C. — a place where families can vacation while their sons and daughters play. The facility will host its first full summer this year.

Ripken's other hot market: hard-core fans. Always willing to sign an autograph and irked by shady memorabilia dealers, the Iron Man started Ironclad Authentics, which sells balls, bats and jerseys signed by 75-odd baseball heroes, including Don Mattingly, Ernie Banks and Yogi Berra.

Ripken won’t comment on his company's financials, other than to say each unit is profitable and that he prefers to reinvest the cash he makes back into baseball. “I’d love to have 10 or 12 youth complexes,” he says.

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Still, all the scratch his businesses throw off could be aimed at something bigger. The Orioles haven’t had a winning season for almost a decade, leading many to suggest Ripken should buy the team from current majority owner, lawyer Peter Angelos. Unpopular with the team’s die-hard fan base, Angelos has given no indication he intends to sell the team — though he and Ripken reportedly have dinner from time to time in Baltimore. If he does make a play for the team in the future, Ripken will need partners: Forbes estimates the team is worth in excess of $350 million.

“If the Orioles became available, I would certainly love to put together a group and try to buy the team,” Ripken says. “I have several ideas and philosophies I think could benefit the entire organization, from the farm system to scouting to the Major League ball club.”

While he waits, Ripken continues to show up for work every day. “You’d think all this would be easy with a background in baseball, but it’s not," he says. "It requires capital, infrastructure, training and organization — plus a lot of work.” The perfect gig for an Iron Man.

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