Orioles Hall-of-Famer reveals his legacy almost took a unique turn

The Baltimore Orioles once had one of the finest players Major League Baseball had even seen.

Shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. played his entire career with the Orioles and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007 years after his retirement.

However, Ripken recently revealed that his career almost took a very different turn.

"I remember the Yankees going to the All-Star Game," Ripken said. "Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield, their job was to convince me that it's really good to play in New York. They were pressing me for the first couple of days at the All-Star Game."

This would have made for an interesting twist. If Ripken had left Baltimore for New York, the history of the Orioles would be looked at completely differently. The team likely would have struggled immensely in his absence, and he also wouldn't have been remembered as solely an Oriole.

Obviously, this never came to pass, and Ripken remained an Oriole for his entire career.

"We opened up after the All-Star Game with (the Yankees)," Ripken added. "To start the second half of the season we were at home and there was an article that came out that morning. (George) Steinbrenner was criticizing Mattingly and Winfield."

Ultimately, this proved to just be smoke and mirrors in the end, but it is interesting to think about what could have happened if Ripken had left Baltimore and taken Winfield and Mattingly up on their offer to come to New York.

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