Manny Ramirez
Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida is a Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for parts of 19 seasons. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays before playing one season at the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan. Ramirez is recognized for having great batting skill and power. He was a nine-time Silver Slugger and was one of 28 players to hit 500 career home runs. His 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 29 postseason home runs are the most in MLB history. He appeared in 12 All-Star Games, with a streak of eleven consecutive games beginning in 1998 that included every season that he played with the Red Sox.
Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. When he was 13 years old, he moved to New York City with his parents, Onelcida and Aristides. He attended George Washington High School and became a baseball standout. He was drafted 13th overall by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. He made his MLB debut on September 2, 1993.
In 1994, Ramirez became a major league regular and finished second in voting for the Rookie of the Year Award. By 1995, he had become an All-Star. He helped lead the Indians to five consecutive playoff berths from 1995 to 1999; this included an appearance in the 1995 and 1997 World Series. In 1999, Ramirez set the Indians' single-season RBI record with 165 RBIs. After the 2000 season, Ramirez signed with the Boston Red Sox. During his time in Boston, Ramirez and teammate David Ortiz became one of the best offensive tandems in baseball history. Ramirez led the Red Sox to World Series Championships in 2004 and 2007 before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008 as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In, Ramirez was suspended 50 games for violating baseball's drug policy by taking human chorionic gonadotropin, a women's fertility drug that is often taken after steroids. In the spring of 2011, Ramirez was informed by MLB of another violation of its drug policy, and a 100-game suspension. He chose to retire on April 8 rather than be suspended. However, in September 2011, Ramirez wished to be reinstated and agreed in December with the league to a reduced 50-game suspension. Though he played at various points in the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs systems, as well as internationally, Ramirez did not appear in another Major League game.
Known as a complete hitter who could hit for both power and average, and widely regarded as one of the best right-handed hitters of his generation, Ramirez finished his career with a lifetime.312 batting average, 555 home runs, and 1,831 RBI. In 111 postseason games, Ramirez posted a.285 batting average with 29 home runs and 78 RBI.
Early life
Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to Aristides and Onelcida Ramirez and spent 13 years living there. As a child, Ramirez was obsessed with baseball. When he was eight years old, his grandmother got him a Dodgers uniform with the number 30 on the back, which he considers to be one of his most prized possessions. In 1985, he moved to the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City with his parents. He often played ball at the nearby Snake Hill, the same place Lou Gehrig played during his childhood. Despite living just a short distance from Yankee Stadium, Ramirez rooted for the Toronto Blue Jays, who had as he described his Dominican heroes George Bell and Tony Fernández on its roster; he attended games when the Blue Jays were in town.Ramirez attended George Washington High School from 1987 to 1991, leaving at the age of 19 without graduating. During his time on the team, GWHS was seeing a large increase in the number of immigrants. This was apparent, as GWHS's baseball team was composed entirely of Dominicans. As a youth, Ramirez preferred to not be the center of attention and was often very modest. During his time at GWHS, he led his team to three straight division championships. As a junior in 1990, he had a batting average of.633 and hit 16 home runs. He was a three-time all-city selection in baseball, and as a high school senior was named New York City Public School Player of the Year in 1991, hitting for a.650 batting average with 14 home runs in 22 games.
Career
Minor leagues
The Cleveland Indians selected Ramirez in the first round with the 13th overall pick of the 1991 MLB draft and gave him a $250,000 signing bonus. He was assigned to the Rookie-level Burlington Indians for his professional debut. He was named the Appalachian League MVP and was selected by Baseball America as short-season Player of the Year while slugging 19 homers and driving in 63 runs in 59 games, while leading the league in slugging and total bases. With the Single-A Kinston Indians in 1992, Ramirez battled injuries but still hit.278 with 13 homers and 63 RBIs in 81 games and was named as the number three prospect and the "Most Exciting Player in the Carolina League" by Baseball America. In 1993, Ramirez was named "Minor League Player of the Year" by Baseball America while hitting.333 with 31 homers and 115 RBIs in 129 combined games with the Double-A Canton–Akron Indians and Triple-A Charlotte Knights.Cleveland Indians (1993–2000)
1993–1994
Ramirez made his major league debut on September 2, 1993, against the Minnesota Twins, going hitless in four at-bats as the designated hitter. The following day, when the Indians took on the New York Yankees, Ramirez went 3 for 4 with his first two home runs, with many of his family and friends in attendance at Yankee Stadium. His first career base hit was hit against Mélido Pérez. However, rather humorously, his first MLB hit off Perez was an automatic double that bounced into the left-field seats as left fielder Paul O'Neill pursued it. Ramirez, seeing the ball in the seats, continued running thinking he had hit a home run, before returning to second base while his teammates ribbed him. After flying out to O'Neill in his next plate appearance, Ramirez homered in his final two at-bats.In 1994, his first full season in the majors, Ramirez had a strong start to the season, hitting six home runs during the month of April. Despite a weak start to May, he rebounded in the latter half of the month, finishing the month with a.300 batting average. During the season, the Indians were chasing the Chicago White Sox for first place in the American League Central division all the way until the end of the season. However, the team's season ended in August due to the 1994 MLB strike. Ramirez finished second in the Rookie of the Year award voting after batting.269 with 17 home runs and 60 RBI in 91 games.
1995–1997
Ramirez's breakout season came in 1995, when he batted.308 with 31 home runs and 107 RBI. In July, he was selected to his first All-Star Game and won his first career Silver Slugger Award following the season. That year, the Indians reached the postseason, and Ramirez hit two home runs in the 1995 American League Championship Series against the Mariners, which the Indians won in six games. The Indians then took on the Atlanta Braves in the World Series, and Ramirez batted.222 with one home run in the Indians' six-game loss. In December 1995, Ramirez agreed to a $10.15 million, four-year contract.Ramirez continued to hit well in 1996, batting.309 with 33 home runs and 112 RBI. The Indians again reached the playoffs, and Ramirez batted.375 with two home runs in the Indians' loss to the Orioles in the 1996 American League Division Series. In 1997, Ramirez's contact continued to improve, though his power dipped slightly, as he hit.328 with 26 home runs and 88 RBI. This year, the Indians again reached the World Series, and Ramirez batted.154 with two home runs as the Indians lost to the Florida Marlins in seven games.
1998–2000
In 1998, Ramirez experienced a great increase in power, on his way to becoming one of the great run producers in the game. He batted.294 with 45 home runs and 145 RBIs, and was selected to his second All-Star Game, where he recorded a sacrifice fly and RBI. Ramirez batted.357 with two home runs during the ALDS versus the Red Sox, which the Indians won in four games. In the ALCS against the Yankees, Ramirez batted.333 with two home runs, but the Indians lost in six games. Following the season, Ramirez came in sixth place in AL MVP voting.Ramirez began 1999 on a hot streak, hitting.337 with seven home runs in the month of April. Ramirez's hot hitting continued all season, as he batted.364 in May and reached the All-Star break with 25 home runs and 96 RBI. At the time, it was the third-highest single-season total for RBI by the All-Star Break in MLB history, behind only Hank Greenberg and Juan González. On September 30, 1999, Ramirez broke the Indians' single-season RBI record by hitting a three-run home run, giving Ramirez 164. Despite missing 15 games, he finished 1999 with 165 RBI, the highest total by any player since Jimmie Foxx, and batted an eye-popping.383 against left-handed pitchers. He also batted.383 with runners in scoring position, and.377 with men on base. That season, he finished third in the voting for the AL MVP award. However, he struggled in the 1999 postseason, going 1-for-18 as the Indians were eliminated by the Boston Red Sox in 5 games in the 1999 American League Division Series.
In 2000, Ramirez was limited to 118 games due to a hamstring injury, but recorded a career-high.351 batting average, along with 38 home runs and 122 RBI. His return is believed to have started a major comeback that led the Indians to a final record of 90–72 and cut the number of games they were behind the leader of the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox, from 11.5 games down to 7.5 games in just a month. Because of his return, Roberto Alomar, Omar Vizquel, and Kenny Lofton all started getting better pitches to hit, which also significantly increased their batting averages. Despite the comeback, the Indians failed to make the postseason, finishing five games behind the White Sox in the AL Central. With free agency looming, Ramirez homered in his final game and at-bat in an Indians uniform, on October 1 against Toronto in front of the home fans at Jacobs Field.