Voice of America

The U.S. State Department says baseball great Cal Ripken, Jr., will visit Nicaragua in mid-November in his role as an American public diplomacy envoy.

A statement issued Wednesday says Ripken will make the five-day trip with Nicaraguan native Dennis Martinez, who played with Ripken for the Baltimore Orioles.

During the trip, Ripken and his group will visit Managua, Leon and Granada. They will be involved in helping instruct more than 100 youth coaches and 500 Nicaraguan children on the game.

He and Martinez are expected to be in Nicaragua from November 13 through the 18.

Martinez – nicknamed “El Presidente” – won 245 games as a pitcher in 23 Major League seasons, ending in 1998. Ripken retired in 2001 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame last year. The shortstop played in a record 2,632 consecutive games between 1982 and 1998.