Ripken buys into minor league

Ripken has yet to give his new team a name

Former Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken has bought his own minor league baseball team.

Ripken announced on Wednesday he had purchased the Utica Blue Sox of the Class A short-season New York-Penn League.

And he will relocate the team to his hometown of Aberdeen, Maryland, in time for the start of the season in June.

The team will also join the Orioles organisation.

"The fact that the Orioles are making (it) one of their affiliates means a great deal to me," said Ripken.

The team will play in the 6,000-seater Ripken Stadium, which is currently being built.

It will also be re-named although no name has been decided yet.

Ripken, known as the "Iron Man", holds the major league record for the most consecutive games ever played - 2,632.

His unbroken playing streak started on 30 May, 1982, and lasted until 19 September 19, 1998.

It broke the previous record of Lou Gehring which had stood at 2,310 games.

He made his major league debut in 1981 and was named American League Rookie of the Year the following year.