Manny Ramirez

About Manny Ramirez

Manuel Aristides (Onelcida) Ramirez known by the nickname Manny (born May 30, 1972 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is an American Major League Baseball player. A nine-time Silver Slugger, and one of twenty-four people to have hit over 500 career home runs, he is well recognized for his strong offensive abilities. He has the most career grand slams of any active player, and has led the American League in three key batting measures: batting average, home runs and runs batted in. For the past eleven years, Ramirez has been a fixture in the All-Star Game, and is a twelve-time All-Star. In 2004, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series after helping the Boston Red Sox win their first championship in over 86 years.

Ramirez was selected by the Cleveland Indians with the 13th pick of the 1991 June draft, and played primarily as a rightfielder. From 1993 to 2001, he had 236 home runs and 804 RBI in 967 games for the Cleveland Indians, including a career-high 45 home runs in 1998, and a career-high 165 RBI in 1999, when he hit .333 with 44 homers and scored 131 runs (also a career high). His 165 RBIs in 1999 were the highest total by any player since Jimmie Foxx (1938). During his time in Cleveland, he played in two World Series, 1995 and again in 1997.

In December of 2000, Ramirez signed an eight-year, $160 million deal with the Red Sox, with $20 million options for 2009 and 2010, pushing the total value of the contract to $200 million for 10 years. Ramirez immediately delivered for the Red Sox, hitting .408 in April. His final season stats were a .306 batting average with 41 home runs and 125 RBI. On June 23, Ramirez hit two monstrous home runs against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park, with the second one hitting the very top of the light tower in left field. The length of the home run was officially listed at 501 feet, just short of Ted Williams' record of 502 feet.