Cal in Pinstripes? He Thought About It.

Orioles fans have lived through plenty of nightmares in recent history - 12 straight losing seasons, Camden Yards being overrun by Red Sox bandwagon jumpers, 30-3, Jeffrey Maier - but nothing as bad as this: Cal Ripken Jr. in pinstripes.

Ripken told Dan Patrick that the Bronx - where I heard No. 8 booed late in his career - was a consideration for him following the disastrous 1988 season:

-- Dan asked Ripken the poll question about franchise players joining another team at the end of his career. Ripken said he actually did consider Toronto, Atlanta and the Yankees at one point, but couldn't leave Baltimore, his hometown.

Here's the audio. Apparently Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield gave Ripken the hard sell at the All-Star Game, but it sounds like Atlanta was the most serious consideration.