Advertisement

Cal Ripken Jr. is selling his mansion, and here are the 8 best features

Aerial view of Cal Ripken Jr.'s home, which you can buy for just under $10 million. (Zillow)
Aerial view of Cal Ripken Jr.’s home, which you can buy for just under $10 million. (Zillow)

Cal Ripken Jr., the “Iron Man” himself, is selling his Reisterstown, Maryland mansion. When a famous ballplayer sells his house, it’s a chance to get a glimpse of where our favorite stars hang (or hung) their hats.

[Fantasy Football is open! Sign up now]

And Ripken’s estate is a doozy. On sale for $9.75 million, it’s a 26,000 square foot home that sits on 26 acres. It has six bedrooms, 15 (!) bathrooms and a slew of incredible, impressive amenities. With more than 100 photos on the Zillow listing, it takes awhile to get through it all. So here’s our list of the 8 best features in Ripken’s insane house.

8. Screening room

The interior of Ripken's luxury screening room. (Zillow)
The interior of Ripken’s luxury screening room. (Zillow)

A fancy movie screening/media room is par for the course in big houses like Ripken’s, and his is gorgeous. But how many have their own glassed-off box office?

In case Ripken feels like taking tickets when he shows a movie, he has a ticket window built into the entrance of his screening room. (Zillow)
In case Ripken feels like taking tickets when he shows a movie, he has a ticket window built into the entrance of his screening room. (Zillow)

It looks like a real (but tiny) movie theater, situated in the middle of Ripken’s house.

7. Pool

Cal Ripken's pool, with a pool house, torches, deck furniture, and a statue of a boy playing baseball. (Zillow)
Cal Ripken’s pool, with a pool house, torches, deck furniture and a statue of a boy playing baseball. (Zillow)

Of course Ripken has a pool at his house, but how many pools have a statue of a small boy holding a bat, getting ready to hit a baseball?

6. Basketball court

The Ripken estate has an amazing basketball court. (Zillow)
The Ripken estate has an amazing basketball court. (Zillow)

This huge basketball court is amazing, but it’s just the start of the sports-themed features in Ripken’s home.

5. Fitness center

The fitness room at the Ripken mansion is well stocked. (Zillow)
The fitness room at the Ripken mansion is well stocked. (Zillow)

Usually hotels and apartment complexes have fitness centers, but calling this an exercise room seems woefully inappropriate. Like everything else in this house, it’s gigantic, and it’s got pretty much anything in it that you could ever want to exercise on/with.

4. Baseball-style clubhouse

If Ripken wanted to field a baseball team at his house, he could put them in his custom clubhouse. (Zillow)
If Ripken wanted to field a baseball team at his house, he could put them in his custom clubhouse. (Zillow)

Just in case Cal wanted to relive his playing days, he built a clubhouse, complete with lockers and a wall-mounted TV, into his house. Who knows how or even if he ever used it, but imagine Ripken sitting there with a few old baseball buddies after playing a friendly game.

3. Baseball diamond

Of course there's a baseball diamond at Cal Ripken's house. (Zillow)
Of course there’s a baseball diamond at Cal Ripken’s house. (Zillow)

But where would Ripken and his buddies play that friendly game? At the baseball diamond Ripken had built onto his 26-acre estate. And in case anyone didn’t know who it belonged to, there’s a rock engraved with 2131, Ripken’s consecutive games record, sitting right at the side.

2. Batting cage

The batting cage in Ripken's house is pretty sweet. (Zillow)
The batting cage in Ripken’s house is pretty sweet. (Zillow)

Honestly, it would be hard to imagine that Cal Ripken’s house wouldn’t have its own batting cage. There’s a clubhouse and a baseball diamond, so a batting cage just makes sense. And the room is enormous, coated in netting and divided into two. It’s a baseball nut’s dream.

1. Training room

Need to recover after a long day of sports? This training room should do the trick. (Zillow)
Need to recover after a long day of sports? This training room should do the trick. (Zillow)

So after a full day of hanging in the clubhouse, playing on the diamond, hitting in the cage, shooting hoops and doing a little free-range exercise, how do you recover and reset yourself? By taking in a soak and getting a massage in the incredible training room. There are two full-size athletic soaker tubs and a massage table, and if you get a little thirsty there’s a Budweiser cooler within arm’s reach.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – –

Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher