When Baltimore Orioles fans -- or any baseball fans, for that matter -- hear the name Ryan Ripken, their minds will almost immediately go to another player: Ryan Ripken's father and Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr.
Ryan Ripken just wants to be who he is, though; he wants people to get to know him first. His way of doing that is developing as a player and rising through the minors with the Orioles.
"I'd say these last two years, I've had a lot of chances to get to know myself as a player," Ripken said on Glenn Clark Radio June 13. "The exciting thing is you get to go out and face a better competition as you move up, and you still have to learn to adjust. And that's the cool part. I'm still starting to figure out some of those things ... through the ups and downs. But it's been a fun ride."
