One Rip-roaring Family Affair

Three of Vi Ripken's favorite men, wearing the same surname across the backs of their Baltimore Oriole uniforms, came out of the home dugout at Miami Stadium last Wednesday following a downpour. Striding onto the soaked field, the tallest one asked. "Who's the dummy who sent us out in this stuff?" Following in his footsteps, the youngest one chimed in, "Yeah, who's the dummy who sent us out in this stuff?" The oldest and toughest one said nothing. He just smiled the contented smile of the dummy who has all of the answers.

If Cal Ripken Sr. , the Orioles ' new manager, creases his leathery countenance with a grin every now and then this spring, he's entitled. At various times during the past 30 years he has caught, coached, managed, flashed signs and guided youths in the Baltimore chain, stoically abiding as others succeeded to the major league managing throne he coveted. The team passed him over after the 1982 season, when Joe Altobelli got the job, and again two summers ago, when Earl Weaver returned. But his loyalty has been a match for Penelope's. "He's not a true Oriole," says former O's pitching coach Ray Miller . "He's the true Oriole."

So it's by a happy confluence of fate and faith that this 51-year-old family man not only has achieved the job of his dreams at last but also will be able to share the experience, come rain or come shine, with his Nos. 1 and 3 sons, Cal Jr. (the tall one), 26, will play shortstop—as he has for every inning of every game since June 5. 1982. Second baseman Billy (the baby), 22, will probably wind up in Triple-A Rochester this season, but he has big-club potential and will probably get at least a September call-up. Only Connie Mack and Yogi Berra have ever managed one of their sons; nobody has ever managed two of them.

"I've dreamed about Billy and me playing side by side." says Cal Jr. "I'd like us to be like Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker in Detroit—so good, so close, so important to their club. And to play together for our father would be great."

Their father, however, is not given to such effusiveness. "Hell, no," the chain-smoking Ripken rasps, "I don't even think about having a son or sons on the ball club until the media brings it up. Listen. We're professionals, at the top level of the game. We know our jobs, and family doesn't interfere."

The Orioles are also family to Rip Sr., and last season he had to suffer as his adopted brood dissolved in ways he had never before seen. A club that had long prided itself on reliable pitching, tight defense, precision execution and a knack for winning the close ones suddenly lost the vaunted "Oriole way." Baltimore dropped 42 of its last 56 games and belly flopped into last place, 22� games behind Boston in the AL East . With four weeks left to play, Weaver also succumbed to the malaise and announced his intention to resign as manager at the conclusion of the regular season.

Some suspected that Ripken was promoted because of fears that Rip Jr. and Eddie Murray would leave if he weren't. But the real reason was the Orioles ' need to revive their winning tradition and foster unity, Indeed, Senior helped write The Oriole Way, a guide distributed to minor league managers and coaches, explaining how to teach the Baltimore system. Even if they don't win right away, the Orioles are hoping Ripken can get them back to such basics as hitting the cutoff man and laying down bunts when needed, More important, Ripken will try to stop the bickering that plagued the club last year and try to start the players thinking as a team again. "I know these guys can get the job done." says Ripken , "I may be hardheaded, but that's what I believe. We'll be a competitive team."

Oriole G.M. Hank Peters had wanted to hire Ripken when Altobelli was dismissed in the middle of the '85 season. Owner Edward Bennett Williams overruled him. Now Williams says. "Rehiring Earl Weaver was the biggest mistake I've ever made in baseball." Of Ripken, the owner says. "He handled himself with such class and loyalty in difficult situations that you had to be impressed." And the image of Ripken on an '84 barnstorming trip to Japan lingered in the owner's mind. "We were on the plane 17 hours going over, and he never loosened his tie once." Williams recalls. "You had to be impressed with that kind of discipline."

Williams hopes that some of Ripken 's first-to-come, last-to-leave work ethic rubs off on his charges. But the managerial switch is not all the O's have done to shake up the team. In the off-season they signed a pair of free agents for their infield—second baseman Rick Burleson , 35, and third baseman Ray Knight , 34—and traded a much-needed pitcher, Storm Davis , to the Padres for a catcher, Terry Kennedy, 30. The changes not only plug the Orioles ' three biggest holes, but they also give them three World Series veterans with a will to win. They won't do much, though, to shake up the traditional Weaver offensive philosophy, which boiled down to waiting for the three-run homer. Last year the O's hit the fewest triples in major league history (13), surpassed just one team in steals and scored three runs or fewer in almost half their games. The Orioles also had defensive problems, with 135 errors and a fielding percentage of 978 their worst since 1959.

Old and new alike applauded Ripken 's inaugural address in Miami last Thursday. "I wish you could have heard it." outfielder Mike Young says. "He said he wanted us to laugh and have a good time like Oriole teams have had in the past. The difference is that when we go out on the field, we have to tend to business. He said baseball was a matter of doing two million little things. You do the little things, and you never have to worry about the big ones." Pitcher Scott McGregor said. "He's so enthusiastic, you can't help but be enthusiastic. We heard the same speech for 10 years. It's good to hear a different one."