A 12-year veteran, who played in the Orioles minor-league system with Washington, Ripken has traveled around several spring sites to feature some of the coaches behind the scenes who go unnoticed, but whose contributions are just as valuable.
“I had an idea that I wanted to shed some light on what I wanted to do with some these coaches and the work they actual put in. Of the five coaches, Ronnie Washington was the guy I selected for the infield stuff. He was a teammate of mine when he was 35 and I was 22, and I learned (from him) about going about your business. Every fan knows who their manager is, but not every fan knows who the coaches are."
Washington's infield workouts are legendary, and Ripken spotlights the work the coach and some of his players do prior to each practice. Considering the talent on hand and the fact that Brian Snitker's squad is pretty good defensively, was he surprised to see some of the veterans participating in those drills?
"I don't think there's any doubt about it. He (Washington) has some talent to work with. When you see the work that goes in and the players buying in every day...repetition is the main thing in baseball. We play 162 games in 180 days. Ronnie works hard in trying to get those players to be really consistent. That consistency starts with Ron's work-ethic. He suggests strongly that his players come out and do it. And when I was there before pitchers and catchers reported, Dansby Swanson was there. I saw (Ozzie) Albies was there going through the routine. That’s a tribute to the players as well, because they didn’t have to be there and they were there getting their work in."
When asked if the Braves need to make a roster move to beef up the bullpen right now, Ripken didn't think they it was necessary at this point.
“I do think you have a little bit of time. They’ve done a really good job developing some young arms on their staff. I think they like what they have. I don't think they wanted to bolster their team, budget-wise, through free agency, and I don’t think they wanted to trade some of their young guys. They came out of nowhere last year and won the East. I don’t think it’ll be as easy for them because Washington has something to say about that. The Mets certainly got better and so did Philadelphia. It's going to be a fun division. I think their offensive set gives them some flexibility to let some young guys establish themselves. Maybe there's a stopper out there, a closer out there who may reunite with the Braves; who knows on that one. I think they have some time to let these young arms develop.”
One player Ripken njoys watching, and one many baseball fans enjoyed last season, is Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. When asked if Acuna should be considered one of the greats after one season, Ripken cautioned to give the young phenom some time to just enjoy playing each day.
"There's part of me being old-school that says he hasn't done it long enough. There are quite a few guys out there like (Mike) Trout, like (Nolan) Arenado, like Francisco Lindor, who have done a little bit longer. But when you're able to watch him...the splash that he made; the presence he has, the tools that are on display, I don't blame anybody for getting excited and saying that he might have become a top-10 player in baseball. His talent on display is undeniable."
Finally, Ripken addressed Bryce Harper's failure to ink his name on a contract, but feels it's only a matter of time before the All-Star gets it done.
“I think the years and the dollars are a part of that reason. And the way this thing has played out, with Manny (Machado) getting his $300 million deal, we know super-agent Scott Boras get his clients an awful lot of money. And I think he's been holding out to see Manny go first and he wants to break the records. Anytime you’re talking about 10 and 300, that's going to limit some options. They're just playing it to set a record, we’ll probably see within the next week that Bryce finds a home.”