Sports Radio Service


		Will Manny Ramirez play in 2011? By Jerry Feitelberg September 20, 2010

	Tonight, the Athletics are hosting the Chicago White Sox for a 3 game set. So far this season,the teams have split the 6 games that they have played. The White Sox are now 10 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central division. The Sox claimed former Dodger, Manny Ramirez, on waivers. The Sox were hoping that Ramirez would bring a big bat and help them in the power department. So far, that has not happened. Ramirez is hitting .301 with the Sox but has but one home run and one run batted in since joining the club. Manny has had a Hall of Fame career. Manny broke in with Cleveland in 1993 and played in 2 World Series with the club but did not win a World Series ring. After the 2000 season, he signed an 8 year contract with the Boston Red Sox for 160 million dollars and with contract options he would have made 200 million dollars. In 2008, he had worn out his welcome in Boston and was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manny became in instant hit. Left field in Dodger Stadium became Mannywood. He played very well and the Dodgers made the playoffs that year.. He has been an All-Star 12 times and has 9 Silver Slugger awards. He is 9th all time in slugging percentage at a .587 clip. He is 14th all time with 555 home runs and 17th all time with 1829 runs batted in. He has 546 doubles to his credit. Without doubt,Manny Ramirez is one of the greatest right handed hitter in all of baseball history. However, Manny is now38 years old and was on the disabled list 3 times this year. Last year with the Dodgers, Manny was suspended for 50 games for using a performance enhancing drug. His performance since that time has been less than stellar. The Dodgers are not going anywhere this year,so they put Manny on waivers and the White Sox claimed him. The White Sox are paying him 3.8 million dollars for the the month or so that he will be with the Sox this year. He will be a free agent at the end of the year. Will he be picked up by anyone next year? Don't think so. He would have to take a huge pay cut. He has made a ton of money and should be able to live quite well for the rest of his life. However,players have egos and Manny might feel that he's not ready to retire and some American League team could pick him to be a Designated Hitter. At some point in the future, Manny will be eligible for Hall of Fame consideration. The steroid issue will certainly be a factor in the minds of the voters. One thing is for sure, Manny Ramirez had a wonderful career. He could hit for average as well as power. He won 2 World Series rings with the Red Sox and was Most Valuable player in the 2004 World Series as the Red Sox won their first World Series Championship in 86 years. He did many goofy things in his time as a player and people said it was Manny being Manny. When Manny leaves the game , he will be missed.