Bill Ripken, a 12-year major league veteran, began his career with the Baltimore Orioles in 1987, under the direction of his father, Cal Ripken, Sr., and alongside his brother, Cal Ripken, Jr. This was the first and remains the only time in Major League Baseball history that a father simultaneously managed two of his sons.
After five and a half seasons with the Orioles, Bill, who would later return to Baltimore for a year, played for Texas, Cleveland and Detroit. In 1988, he was second among American League second baseman in double plays turned (100). At the plate, Bill led the Baltimore Orioles in hitting with a .291 average and 28 doubles in 1990. A second baseman by trade, his fielding percentage was .9927 in 1992, the best of any major league second baseman that season. He concluded his career with a .247 lifetime batting average.
In the spring of 2002, Bill was honored for his achievements in Major League Baseball with an induction into the Maryland Sports Hall of Fame.
Bill is currently the Co-Owner/ Executive Vice President of Ripken Baseball, founded in 1999 and based in Baltimore, Maryland. The sales and marketing company is a parent company to six distinct subsidiaries that work to grow baseball at the youth and professional levels: the Aberdeen IronBirds, the Augusta GreenJackets, the Charlotte Stone Crabs, Ripken Amateur Baseball, Ripken Design, and Ironclad Authentics.
In 2001 Cal and Bill Ripken established the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, in memory of the family's patriarch. The Foundation helps teach life lessons through baseball to disadvantaged youth from all over the country and gives them opportunities to learn about making good choices and reaching their full potential.
Bill is involved in all aspects of the business and is regularly seen running youth camps and coaching clinics. Through his work with these programs, he has become recognized as one of America's premier baseball instructors. He has also found time to help produce several Ripken Baseball instructional products with his brother, Cal Ripken, Jr., including the bestselling book Play Baseball The Ripken Way and instructional DVD series entitled Baseball The Ripken Way.
Bill also oversees the continued development of the Ripken Baseball complexes in Aberdeen, Maryland and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Bill resides in Maryland with his wife, Candace, and their children, Miranda, Anna, Reese, and Jack.
