CLEVELAND, Ohio – Former Cleveland Indians outfielder Manny Ramirez made his return to the team and city he originally called home for Saturday night’s Guardians Hall of Fame induction.
“It’s an honor to come back to the house that I built. ’The Jake.’ I know they changed the name,” Ramirez jested ahead of Saturday’s game. Ramirez then stated: I’m happy to be back. I’m happy to be back in the city, in the place where I grew up.”
Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic before moving to New York City as a teenager, Ramirez was a standout baseball player at George Washington High School before becoming the 13th overall selection by Cleveland in the 1991 MLB Draft. Within two years, Ramirez made his pro debut and soon worked his way into a regular role with an Indians team that was among the league’s best in the mid-to-late 1990s.
“I just wanted to go and play the game,” said Ramirez. “I was a kid coming out of New York City, excited to come and show people what I could do. I wasn’t looking to be the best right-handed hitter ever. I was just playing and competing.”
One of the most dangerous hitters of his era, Ramirez slashed .313/.407/.592 in eight seasons with the Indians, while totaling 236 home runs, 804 RBIs, and 1,086 hits. He made four All-Star teams and earned MVP votes over five different seasons for Cleveland. In 1999, Ramirez hit 44 home runs and drove in 165 runs – a franchise single-season record and the most for a single major league campaign since 1940.
Ramirez was also part of two AL-pennant winning Cleveland teams, in 1995 and ’97. Both times, the Indians fell short in winning what would have been their first World Series title since 1948.
When asked if those teams should have won a title, Ramirez stated: “I think we should have won it, but…we didn’t have pitching. At that time, we’d be scoring, like, eight runs, and they’d [sic] 12 to us. But we did have a great run. At least we went to the World Series.”
Following the 2000 season, Ramirez signed with the Boston Red Sox and helped deliver two World Series championships in 2004 (with Ramirez winning World Series MVP honors) and 2007 – the latter of which came at the expense of Cleveland, who lost to Boston in the American League Championship Series. Both championship wins came under the leadership of then-Sox manager Terry Francona, who now resides in the Guardians’ dugout.
“This is his day,” Francona stated on his former player before Saturday’s game. “And you never want to take away from that. He’s one of the most gifted hitters I’ve ever seen.” “He loved to hit. When he got in that batter’s box, it was different. When he left the batter’s box, it was different too” Francona paused for a laugh. “When he was in the batter’s box, it was pretty special. He had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to do.”
“Terry was awesome,” Ramirez complimented Francona. “When I played in Boston, he was always there for you.”
In his induction speech, Ramirez credited Francona as a "father figure" during the two's pairing in Boston.
During his tenure in Cleveland, the term “Manny being Manny” – attributed to former Indians manager Mike Hargrove in a 1995 Newsday article – came to define Ramirez’z occasionally colorful personality and actions through the rest of his career. Though many on- and off-field situations occurred during his days in Boston, Ramirez’s career began with a “Manny” moment in his second major league game. On Sep. 3, 1993, Ramirez’s believed his first career hit – a ground-rule double at Yankee Stadium – was a home run as he continued to round the bases before realizing the error.
Ramirez, who would hit his first career home run later in the game in New York, addressed the “Manny being Manny” catchphrase by asking, “What does that mean?” during Saturday’s presser.
“It’s been so long,” Ramirez stated, slyly. “I haven’t kept track. I’ve been so busy, reading books and doing a bunch of stuff that…to be honest, I don’t even waste my time on that.”
Ramirez also became the 24th member member of the 500-home run club in 2008, before being traded from Boston to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2009, Ramirez was suspended for 50 games for violating the league’s PED policy, before rounding out his final two major league seasons with the Chicago White Sox (2010) and Tampa Bay Rays (2011).
When asked about his prospects of earning a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Ramirez answered that he was not bothered in waiting for an induction: “I’m a guy that will wait. Life is not how you start. It’s how you finish. There’s more important things to be [than in] the Hall of Fame, because when you die, you’re not going to take the Hall of Fame.”
Ramirez would continue by stating: “I want to be there, but my priorities are something else. It’s going to happen with time. I’m not in a rush.”
Following his major league career, Ramirez played for professional baseball leagues in China and Japan, while also serving as a hitting consultant within the Chicago Cubs organization from 2014 to 2016.
When asked if had a speech prepared for Saturday night’s pregame ceremony, Ramirez simply stated: “Not really. I’m not going to let nobody write my script. I’m going to be honest, and I want everything to come from the heart.”
Sure enough, Ramirez spoke directly to the Cleveland fans at Saturday night's Guardians-Tigers game: "You guys took this little kid from New York...and he became one of the best players in the game. Thank you for electing me [to] the Hall of Fame in Cleveland. It's an honor for me and my family to be in this beautiful family. Something that I didn't deserve, but I [give] thanks for being here with you guys."
Ramirez continued by thanking his family and former Cleveland teammates in attendance, including Carlos Baerga, Charles Nagy, and Guardians coach Sandy Alomar Jr.
Ramirez would finish by stating to the fans: "Thank you guys. I appreciate you being here, and God bless you."