Cal Ripken gave son Ryan a chance at clubhouse duty this spring.(AP)

Ripken's two children, ages 7 and 11, will be Cal's immediate concern. He has had his son Ryan around the team quite a bit this season, including a few stints as a bat boy. Whatever he decides to do outside of his home life, he wants to be able to set his schedule around his time with his family. That will likely be the focus of Cal's immediate future.

Charitable work

Ripken has placed a great emphasis on literacy in his charity work.(AP)

Cal has enough community activities to keep him busy for quite a while, and he is especially committed to his youth initiatives. He funds several programs for youth literacy, donates money for medical research, and has hosted the Orioles' annual Christmas party for kids since he joined the Orioles. Last year, he committed his time and money toward construction of a youth baseball complex and minor-league stadium in his hometown of Aberdeen, Md. That's scheduled to open next year, just in time for Cal to serve as a regular instructor at the youth academy.

Manager

Ripken loves teaching the game to young players.(Allsport)

It's not a role that Ripken relishes while his kids are growing up, but an eventual shot at the role his father cherished would seem a natural fit. He loves the teaching aspect of the game. The question is whether he can fit in that role for a professional organization. Time and again, great players in all sports have tried and failed as coaches because they can't translate their tremendous ability and work ethic to other players. Eventually, that kind of challenge will start to woo the player who built his career around challenges. It won't happen for at least another few years, if it does at all.

Front office

Ripken would make an interesting wheeler and dealer in the front office.(Allsport)

Ripken likes the idea of managing a team, but doesn't like the game schedule or the total time involved. That would leave him more open to two options. First, he could run a club like Michael Jordan and Mario Lemieux have done. Second, he could assist a general manager or take a VP position with a lean toward player personnel. That would leave him available to conduct some on-field instruction with minor-leaguers. At the very least, he can become an ambassador for the game like so many other ex-players in special assistant's roles. Becoming a GM himself would seem to open up the same kind of time restrictions as becoming a manager.