Baseball Isn’t Boring
Being Ryan Ripken: Son Of A Legend. Budding Media Star. AL East Expert.
07 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What was Ryan Ripken's journey to becoming a media star?
You flatter me, Rob. How are we doing today?
I'm good, man. Like it's so I saw you from a distance at the winter meetings. We haven't, this is, we have formally meeting, but I can tell we're going to be fast friends and we love the great game of baseball. and you will be wearing a baseballs and boring t-shirt soon because it'll make your triceps look better than ever.
My playing days are behind me, so I'm looking for how can I visually look better because that working out like six, seven days a week of like two, three hours, that's done, Rob. I mean, I love working out, but I ain't getting paid to do it anymore.
Well, I was going to mention this at the end, but I'll just mention it now. So we're playing off this baseball cliche, which you know. When you get to spring training, which you've been many spring trainings, What do people say? I'm in the best shape of my life, right? I'm in the best shape of my life. So-and-so's in the best shape of their life. I went through an entire clubhouse.
I said, who's in the best shape of their life? 80% of people are in the best shape of their life, right? I don't know if you've ever said it, but the whole premise of what we wanted to do was I wanted to take that cliche and turn it into, all right, Everybody, forget about New Year's resolutions. Let's try to pick one thing that we're going to be in the best shape of our lives by opening day.
And Ryan, it's been awesome. We're giving out t-shirts. We have this community. Major leaguers, regular people, whatever. So I will give you the opportunity if you want to because I'm here to motivate. You just said it. I'm here to motivate. I know that it's not easy being the guy behind the mic. I have to do crunches as I sit here. You're not going to the gym in the built-in time.
So that's a long-winded way of asking you, what would be one thing that if you want to jump in on this by opening day, you say, I'm going to do that. So on the workout side? You can do anything you want. I'll give you examples. CEO Joe Kelly is going to bench press 225 pounds once. I'm going to show an ab. We have a lot of people losing weight.
We have a lot of people saying I'm going to run a mile in this time. We have Amira Garrett saying he's going to do a windmill dunk. That's off the table. We have Anthony Kaye came on, and he said that he just wants to be Andy Paez in MLB The Show once. So at most, honestly, most of it's like physical stuff.
Like most of it. Well, Hey, that that's easy then for me, you know, I never had the bunnies, right? Like I never was considered a jumper. I love basketball by the way. And if there's one thing it's for Ryan Ripken to get back on the court, because it's probably like my, my love for basketball.
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Chapter 2: How did Ryan Ripken transition from baseball player to media personality?
I'm here to build up. And I will say this, you're excellent at this. We're going to get to the whole broadcasting and podcasting and YouTube and all that in a second. But this is, this is, I want to give you that opportunity through the, the opportunity to win a t-shirt, um, to get back that feeling again.
It's all right. I'm in. And you know what I'm going to do on top of this? I, I don't know where these boxes I put, if they're in storage or they're at, you know, The other part, too, of having families in the area, Rob, you know what I do? I said, hey, you know what? You can hold on to that for a little bit because I'm renting places. I don't have the space, but you do.
So I'm going to get the boxes back out. I'm going to make a video. I'm going to put it on social media, and we're going to see it right there in action. There it is.
Well, I love it. All right, I'm here to build you up because you've done so many good things, not only in your life, but... like in the media. And I'm fascinated by anybody who dives into the media and does it in a way that's unique and also in a way that is good. So Ryan Ripken Media, The Ryan Ripken Show, all of that, everybody should check this out.
I was going to say before I started getting fascinated by your awesome quest to have a better vertical leap, which was not on my bucket list, or not on my list when I woke up, but highlight my day. I will say this is that I saw you at the winter meetings from a distance and I saw your name before I saw you and you had a table set up, right?
I mean, it was prime spot, like prime spot right outside the media workroom, Ryan Ripken media, right? And I'm like, man, look at you. All right. Like right in the heart, right where everyone's executives are right next to MLB network radio. It was all right there.
And that told me a lot about, you know, how smart you are, how invested you are, and how you also, I mean, a sliver of the whole thing. But still, like, that was a great idea. And then I saw you in action, again, from a distance. All of it's good. What I'm saying is that I think that you have separated yourself in a world that's not easy to separate yourself.
You know what I'm saying? Yeah, no, I appreciate you saying that because there's so many ways that you can do this now. Heck, just like picking up this thing now, that's a form. And I'll be honest too, Rob, the ironic thing of this whole situation is I hated being on camera in front of a mic or anyone knowing too much information about me growing up.
Now, probably that had more to do with the fact that I came into a family and my dad was in the middle of breaking, I guess, something that people thought was pretty remarkable, but he just showed up for work every day. Rob, I mean, come on. What's so special about playing 2,632 straight games, let alone then breaking Lou Gehrig's record before that for 2,131, 21-31? So I felt like people were...
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Chapter 3: What unique challenges does Ryan Ripken face in the media industry?
He just goes, hey, you know, you're working on media. I got a space. Let's do it. And so I go, okay, that would be a great place for me to work on my skills. Let's call it a project, Rob. So I'm talking a project.
Yeah.
And in the process, the project became a business. And in the process of this, people have said, oh, you are really committed to this. Hey, you're not that bad either. And so in a short amount of time, it's been really gratifying for that. But that's how it started. I was hoping to work with some of these companies, and maybe I will down the road.
But Reinerken Media started because of me just having the commitment to get better. And then I'll tell you what, now Ryan Ripken Media is not going to go away. But that's kind of how it all started. So it's been a really fun process. Not always easy, though. I'm stressed out, and they say when you're stressed, you lose your hair. Well, I can't afford that as a Ripken, Rob.
Well, let me just tell you. So a couple things jumped to mind. Two of them are in the same bucket, which is it takes balls to do what you did and what you're doing. And what I'm saying is that, first of all, to pull the cord on how you're identified, and let's be honest, a lot of people, that's how they're identified. I'm identified as a baseball player.
And to pull the cord on that, that's a hard thing to do. No matter if you're in high school, college, AA, AAA majors, whatever it is, hard to do. And then to not wait around and say, hey, MLB Network, hire me. Come on, hire me. But to take it upon yourself, say, I see this avenue. I know that I'm good. I can do this. I can do something creative. I can do something that is going to get some steam.
I know that it's going to be good and it's going to be hard, but it's okay. So, you know, all of that, people don't understand that part of it. And I just want to, and I know that you know this, I mean, you're living it, but. It goes back to what we were talking about the clip Joe had about the retirement thing and everyone's sort of goofing on it, right?
Like, you know, he's ripping on people saying they're retired. But I get it. Like, I get what he was saying, which was, hey, we have a whole nother life to live. and you can't be solely identified in one way. So anyway, this is a very long-winded way of me just saying, of really asking, how hard was that?
How hard was it, A, to quit what you're being identified for, you and your family, by the way, and then, B, jump into this very weird world of the media, and this world of the media probably isn't any less weirder now than it was when you started.
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Chapter 4: How does Ryan Ripken view the competitive landscape of the AL East?
And that was the, honestly, when I look back, why did I want to get in front of camera and mic. It's not cause I think I'm a good looking dude. Cause I mean, look hairline, not my strength. Uh, I think I got a pretty damn big nose too, but one thing I wanted to take back was the power of who I think I am.
And I think I can talk about the game and I think I can, um, have fun with stories and I can shoot the shit and, and try to, to make that. And I think I could make that into something that could be, uh, that people would enjoy. So, um, So deep down, I kind of found myself in that. But for a couple of years, Rob, I'm sitting there, I'm floundering. I'm looking, did I make the right choice?
What the hell am I doing? And I think that everyone can relate to that. And I felt that too. It's a hard thing to say goodbye to one thing and start over. Yeah. But I also think that people do that in their everyday lives, but it's not always maybe understood. But that is the thing that people can relate to. No, and the media, as we said, it's –
I think you said it best. It's a blessing and a curse. There's a million things we can do. We wake up every day. Ryan Ripken Media can do a lot of different things. You can do YouTube. You can do podcasts. You can do social media. You can do all of it. And at the heart of it, I always said this, Ryan, the easiest part of this thing is what we're doing. This is the easiest part.
of talking, of showing personality, of talking about things that we are really interested in. The hard part is that this isn't, when I came up, it was, hey, I'm writing for a newspaper. I'm going to throw it against the window. And that's the day. And then you go on the next day. Now it's, all right, we did this. How do we separate it? How do we do social media? How do we get advertised?
Like, you know, that's the world. And that's why I'm saying to you, like, I think what you're doing should be applauded, should be screamed from the mountaintops, that this is not easy, man, and this is not easy, and you're doing such a good job with it. What is the thing that maybe in the last, since you've been doing it, that you didn't realize that it was going to be that way?
Because ultimately, and you know it, a lot of times guys jump into this and they're like, ah, my show, I'm going to be good to go, right? What is the thing that has been more challenging than you thought it would be? Oh, man.
I think a good reality, and it actually put me back in the baseball world of shit's tough, and you're going to get knocked down. You're going to fail. But in baseball, failing 70% of the time is going to lead you to be one of the best players in the game. That's a hell of a lot of failure, but I realized failure exists. And you can't get comfortable.
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Chapter 5: What strategies does Ryan Ripken suggest for team success in baseball?
But when I look at that, Ryan, I go, damn, you are a lot better than you were two and a half years ago. And so whether it's failing, whether it's just observing, learning, that was the biggest thing I learned or experienced in this process. And what I think is good, someone else might not think it's good. So it's just really being in tune with yourself.
But the bigger thing is if you fail at something, great. Go try it again. In baseball, when you fail, you're worried about your job's going to be over. This is done. I like to say, even though pitchers are going to say, oh, it's hard. Some of my best friends are pitchers. You control everything. If you go out there and throw 97 with sink, And then you have a hammer of an off-speed pitch.
Hey, guess what, Rob? I'm tipping my cap or I'm going to be cursing on my way back to the dugout because you're going to win that battle more times than not, almost every time. And that's sometimes out of your control. But all of this... I get knocked down. Guess what? Who controls getting back into it? It's me. And I think that's where I learned the most of it.
So now I embrace failing more than I ever have in my life. And that's really helped me grow. And the last thing, I like to be humble with it. There's always someone better than you. There's always someone that has more of a following. In this whole ecosystem of this whole media world, I'm just a small speck. Now, I believe I can go in places. I believe I can go further.
But I always keep that in mind, too. I'm never as good or as big as people think I am. And good. And that keeps me motivated and driven. It reminds me that... You know, I kind of, damn, Rob, you bringing this up, I wish I had more of that when I played, but I'm sure as hell happy I have that now. Yeah. And it's just taught me a lot. I mean, this is what it's about.
And whether you're in media or not... You got to just keep getting up and figuring out how to solve the problem.
Well, here's the only thing of advice before I get to the... I always wanted to talk to you about the American League East, but this is like a straight ball right down the middle for me. So I apologize for spending so much time on this. But one thing that we always should realize in the media, especially in this world, is that the page turns really fast. You're good, it turns really fast.
You're bad, it turns really fast. You're wrong... It turns really fast. You break a story, it turns really fast, more than ever. I mean, that's one of the things they say, oh, like, oh, well, you know, like I lived in the world of breaking stories with the be-all, end-all. Well, it just isn't anymore. If you get the attaboy, good job, then you move on. So that's what I'll say.
But I do want to talk to you about, because you follow the Orioles quite a bit. And I find this fascinating. I put up a poll the other day after the Okamoto signing with the Blue Jays. And I said, okay, who had the best offseason? Because the perception of the Blue Jays are blowing everybody away. All right, for 2026, who do you want? Okamoto, Cease, Ponce. Blue Jays. Orioles. Eflin. Boz.
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Chapter 6: How does Ryan Ripken reflect on his identity off the field?
He said, I ain't going to get burned twice. They've been aggressive. And I mean, the other name you didn't add there was Ryan Helsley. And also Taylor Ward. It's been so damn, it's been so many damn moves, but you know what? They had to do that because you know why the Yankees to me going into this, if no moves were being made,
Their pitching staff of Garrett Cole comes back from a starting standpoint. That's elite. Freed, Rodon, Cole.
Schlittler. Yeah.
I mean, Cam, that's right. The dude throwing fuzz. The Yankees develop pitchers just better than almost anyone when I've been around. I mean, that was a team I hated facing in the minor leagues, Rob. So when I look at that, oh, plus you have one of the greatest hitters of all time on your team, even though they need more help.
Mm-hmm.
Like that's the Yankees. Then the blue Jays are like, screw it. We're spending money. And I talked to Mark Shapiro about this last year and he's the president of the blue Jays for those that don't know. And he goes, we're a big market. You know, we are the team of Canada here, but also we want to win and they're backing it up Boston. I like their nucleus.
So, you know, I, I think that they still need a piece or two, but point being, um, at least a gauntlet, and it should be. But that's also why this offseason teams have to get better because if you don't, it's going to be tough sledding, and you better hope that you are excellent at something. And that's what the Blue Jays were. Rob, Blue Jays were the best bad and average team last year.
They were the best situational hitting team last year. That's why they went to the World Series. So that's... But they understand they have to get better. So that's a long-winded answer for me. But this is why I love the AL East. And if I'm the Orioles, so far, you've done what you've said you would. Except I do think they got one more move up their sleeve, Rob.
You think so? That's what I was going to ask, right? You know, it's the Orioles have put themselves in position. And as you said, it's great that... After that year of the sad trombone year, okay, you know what? We're going to course correct and we're going to shock and awe in the offseason. But the one thing that they're sort of waiting for is that alpha. Are they going to get the alpha?
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Chapter 7: What insights does Ryan Ripken share about overcoming failure?
But still, I'm kind of with you. And here's the thing, Ryan. So Bob Nightingale actually tweeted this out just before we started recording about over-unders. The over-unders for win totals are out. I'm going to quiz you, all right? I won't ask you the numbers, but I'm going to ask you the order of what you think it is. So give me the order of what you think from highest to lowest. Win total.
In the AL East?
Yeah. All right. I still think because of going to the pitching, I'm going to say the Yankees are still going to be the favorite. I will then say, oh, man, it's going to coin flip. I think the Orioles are fourth, and I think the Blue Jays second, Red Sox third, Orioles fourth, Rays fifth.
Oh, you nailed it.
There we go.
Yankees, 93 and a half. Blue Jays, 91 and a half. Red Sox, 87 and a half. Orioles, 84 and a half, which, by the way, I'll take the over on that. Rays, 78 and a half. So, man, good for you. See? Your instincts are keen. Good for you.
And here's the thing. When you look at organizations... I was asked about what's going to take the step for the Orioles for people to consider them to be serious contenders moving forward. Well, one is proving to free agents or the perspective around the league is this isn't a one-year thing.
So like in 2023 when they got hot, when no one expected them to jump from, okay, maybe it's a nice story to be a playoff contender to being the one seed in the AL East, People still had some questions. They thought they were on the right track, but what Orioles organization, what were they going to be moving forward? And last year, they didn't spend a lot, and people went out.
They're going back to some of their old ways. So you have to prove it. The Yankees have proved it. And also, I think Boone gets a bad rep. They're always in it. They are a well-run organization. They haven't won in 16 years. Don't tell Yankees fans that. They haven't won in 16 years, but a really good organization. Boston, expectations, but same thing. They cycle back to being contenders.
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Chapter 8: What are Ryan Ripken's predictions for the future of the AL East?
For me, I'll just do an arm farm for the triceps and then solely working on some bunnies. That's it.
I love it. That's it. I love it. It's awesome. Well, thanks, man. I appreciate everything that you do and everything that you are. Thanks, man. I really appreciate it. Thanks, Rob. Really enjoyed it.