Before the Washington Nationals hired Matt Williams as their sixth manager (fifth full-time) in the Fall of 2013, they reportedly discussed the possibility of hiring Baltimore Orioles' Hall of Famer Cal Ripken. How seriously did the Nats consider the O's icon? Ripken, in an interview with ESPN 980's Thom Loverro and Kevin Sheehan this past August, (as transcribed by the Washington Post's Scott Allen), said he and GM Mike Rizzo had what he described as preliminary discussions:
"We had some serious discussions about it and never really got down to the point of choice and those sorts of things," Ripken said.