Manny Ramirez on taking part in the Red Sox’ celebration: ‘I wanted to come and say hi to the fans’
Manny Ramirez still knows how to pull off the unexpected. The former Red Sox slugger and 2004 World Series Most Valuable Player has turned down invitations in the past to participate in championship celebrations. But the 46-year-old former slugger, who also starred for the ’07 champs, decided Tuesday’s celebration was a good time to swing by Fenway again.
“They’ve invited me a couple of years, but I’ve been so busy with the family,’’ said Ramirez, who is married with three children. “I wanted to come and say hi to the fans, and I’m here.
“When I came to Boston [as a free-agent in December 2000], I knew it was going to be tough. But it also made me a better player,’’ he said. “I know sometimes a lot of people saw that maybe I was not working that hard. But I was working hard. I was doing my thing and putting my numbers up.’’
Ramirez put up massive numbers for the Red Sox from his arrival in 2001 until he was traded to the Dodgers at the trading deadline in July 2008, batting .312 with a .999 OPS and 274 home runs. Overall in his 19-year career, he batted .312 with a .996 OPS and 555 home runs, numbers worthy of Hall of Fame induction.
But suspensions in 2009 and ’11 for violating Major League Baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policy have severely hindered his chances. Ramirez has never received more than 23.8 percent of the vote in his three years on the ballot. Seventy-five percent is required for induction.
“I hope to, I hope to,’’ said Ramirez when asked if he expects to make it someday. “But in life, everybody makes mistakes. Nobody is perfect. I think with time and God’s will we’re going to be there. But if not, we’re just happy that we got the opportunity to play the game that we love.’’
Matthew Slater, Joe Cardona, Manny Ramirez, Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Steve Pearce, Rob Gronkowski, Duron Harmon, and Patrick Chung pose for photos with World Series trophies and Vince Lombardi trophies.
Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez and Orlando Cabrera pose for a selfie.
