Cal Ripken's son follows Dad's big footsteps

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Cal Ripken Jr. was never pushed to play baseball by his father. The Iron Man adopted that same philosophy when bringing up his son.

Turns out that Ryan Ripken, like his dad, grew to love baseball. And, just like his father, he's pretty darn good at the game.

Ryan Ripken has been selected to play in the 2011 Under Armour All-America Baseball Game, which will be held next month at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ryan batted .353 as a junior at Gilman High School and has already been contracted by several college baseball coaches.

Sure, his father is proud. But if Ryan chose to drop baseball for basketball, or opted to abandon sports completely, his dad wouldn't mind one bit.

Cal Ripken says Ryan can "gravitate to whatever he wants to do."

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)