Time to face the music by Jared Carrabis
Manny Ramirez returns to Boston on Friday


In a perfect world, Manny Ramirez would still be the starting left fielder for the Boston Red Sox.

In a perfect world, where players who sign multi-year deals actually honor their contracts, Ramirez more than likely would have helped the Red Sox win back-to-back World Series titles in 2007 and 2008, along with the prestigious 2004 championship.

But this world is not so perfect, and instead, there was no title to be celebrated in 2008, and Manny will return to Fenway Park on Friday night as a Dodger, and perhaps the most despised professional athlete in this town since Roger Clemens.

In December of 2000, Dan Duquette, the man who drafted Nomar Garciaparra in 1994 and traded for Pedro Martinez in 1997, signed Ramirez to an eight-year, $160 million deal with $20 million options for 2009 and 2010.

Ramirez came to Boston from Cleveland with 236 career home runs in his back pocket, while averaging over 42 home runs, 144 RBI and a .329 average in the three seasons prior to his coming to the Red Sox.

In his first three seasons with Boston, Ramirez clobbered 111 homers, drove in 336 runs and hit .325 over the three-year span, including a batting title in 2002, when the most feared right-handed hitter in the game hit .359.

In the summer of 2003, Red Sox fans got their first taste of “Manny being Manny.” When Ramirez was seen in a bar having drinks with Yankee infielder Enrique Wilson, after informing the Red Sox he was unable to play due to illness, manager Grady Little sat the slugger for a game. The game in which Ramirez was benched just so happened to be a dramatic comeback against the Philadelphia Phillies on the road, a game in which many considered to be the turning point of the season for the Boston Red Sox.

In 2004, we all know what happened. Ramirez pummeled American League pitching, belting 43 home runs to lead the league, as his 1.009 OPS also led the AL, leading to a third-place finish for MVP. Ramirez went on to hit .412 with a home run to win him World Series MVP honors after the Red Sox were crowned as World Series champions.

After his 17-game hitting streak throughout the postseason helped end an 86-year World Series drought in Boston, Ramirez said, “I don't believe in no curses. You make your own destination.”

From smiles to frowns, trade rumors were running ramped on 2005, which led to Manny sitting on the bench on the day of the trade deadline. As the 4 o’clock deadline passed, Ramirez came out of the dugout in the eighth inning as a pinch hitter, and delivered the eventual game-winning RBI hit.

After the game, Manny told the fans, “Forget about the trade. This is the place I want to be. They want to win. I want to win, too. I’m back. Manny being Manny, man.”

Like the New England weather, Ramirez’s mind changed drastically again in the offseason entering the 2006 campaign. Again, Ramirez demanded that he be traded, and even threatened to be a no-show for spring training, should the Red Sox not comply with his wishes. The unhappy outfielder even went as far as putting his Boston condo on the market, which many believed to be the precursor to a trade.

However, Manny withdrew his demands and went on to hit .321, crank 35 home runs and lead the American League with a .439 on-base percentage in a lost season for the Red Sox, who did not make the playoffs.

2007 wasn’t Manny’s best season power-wise (.296/.388/.493), but he certainly came to play in October. Ramirez passed Bernie Williams for the most postseason home runs all-time, hitting four in total in the ALDS and ALCS alone. Manny left his mark on the Red Sox’ title run by hammering a walk-off home run deep into the Boston night, to end Game 2 of the American League Division Series.

After Boston claimed their second World Series title in four years, Ramirez, who was once a person who wanted no part of media attention or being in the public eye, found himself on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Leno asked Manny if the team had asked him to cut his trademark dreadlocks, and Ramirez responded with, "Not in Fenway, not in Boston, because everybody got the different attitude, and all they want you to do is just play the game hard, and when we're winning, everything is great, and we love it. It’s like I said, Boston is the place to be right now.”

If Boston was the “place to be,” then Manny sure wasn’t acting like it in 2008. Uncertain of his future and unhappy with the way the Red Sox were handling his contract situation, Ramirez and perhaps his agent, Scott Boras, decided to take matters into their own hands.



On May 31, 2008, Manny knocked down the door to the 500 home run club. Five days later, he knocked down Kevin Youkilis in the Red Sox’ dugout. The argument was rumored to be over Ramirez’s delayed arrival to the melee in the middle of the diamond, when Coco Crisp was fighting for his life against the Rays, or because or Youkilis’ frequent outbursts concerning the strike zone.

Not long after his altercation with Youkilis, Ramirez shoved 64-year-old Red Sox traveling secretary, Jack McCormick, to the ground, after he was unable to provide the outfielder with sixteen tickets the day of the game in Houston.

In the weeks leading up to the July 31 trade deadline, Ramirez complained of soreness in his right knee and declared himself unavailable to play. On July 25 when Ramirez told Terry Francona that his knee was too sore to compete, the Red Sox sent the left fielder for an MRI. However, Ramirez “couldn’t remember” which knee was sore.

As a result, both knees were examined and it was revealed that there was no damage in either knee. Ramirez continued to run halfheartedly on ground balls as a result of his displeasure with the way his contract situation was being handled, essentially forcing the Red Sox’ hand to move the disgruntled outfielder.

“If the Red Sox think they can find a trade that is going to make the team better, and both sides are going to be happy, I’m going to agree,” said Ramirez before the deadline. It appeared as if though a trade was inevitable. “Enough is enough,” Manny said. “I’m tired of them. They’re tired of me.”

I was inside the Red Sox front office in the final minutes before the trade deadline, as I listened to Red Sox President and CEO, Larry Lucchino, utter the words, “We need to get that in writing, John.” One could only assume that the “John” he was speaking to was John Henry, the owner of the Boston Red Sox.

Minutes later, TVs everywhere were reporting that the Red Sox had sent Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers, Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to the Pirates, with Jason Bay coming to Boston to replace the most iconic left fielder in Red Sox history since Jim Rice.

Upon is arrival to “Mannywood,” Ramirez had something to say to Red Sox fans, “I want to say something from the bottom of my heart. I want to thank all the fans in Boston. I love you guys and you guys were there for me through the ups and downs and I wish everybody the best. I'm in a new city and I just want to move on.”

In 100 games with Boston, Ramirez had hit 20 home runs with 68 RBI before being traded. The prolific slugger blasted 17 long balls and drove in 53 runs in 53 games, while hitting a scorching .396 following his trade to the Dodgers. He went on to hit .520 (13-for-25) in the postseason for L.A., with four home runs and 10 RBI in 8 postseason games.

His 2008 postseason numbers further fuel the “would have, could have” argument for the Red Sox’ 2008 playoff run, along with proving that Ramirez was “dogging it” in his final days in Boston.

On May 7 of 2009, Manny was handed a 50-game suspension by Major League Baseball for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy. Ramirez suspiciously tested positive for a woman’s fertility drug that is notoriously used by steroid users, who are coming off a steroid cycle. The drug restarts the male body’s natural production of testosterone, although Ramirez did not test positive for steroids.

Just one day before the 2009 trade deadline, The New York Times further tainted Ramirez’s image by reporting that Manny was among the 104 major league players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003.

June 18, 2010 will mark the return of Manny Ramirez to Boston. Will you stand and applaud the man who was one of the biggest contributors to the Red Sox winning two World Series titles? Or will you boo the man who wanted so badly out of Boston, the city where baseball fans worshipped the ground he walked on?

The choice is yours, as it was his to be in this situation in the first place. After all, “You make your own destination.” Right, Manny?



-Jared Carrabis

To order Jared's debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, click HERE!





Published on June 15, 2010

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