Manny being Manny resurfaces in Chicago
Manny Ramirez’s latest gig with the Cubs is proof that if you hang around the game long enough, you’ll see it all.
Among the greatest right-handed hitters of his generation and definitely one of the least coachable, he’s back in baseball as a coach. Exactly what kind of coach, well, no one in the organization seems to be certain.
Ramirez isn’t listed on either the coaching or support staffs as Chicago heads into the NL Championship Series. Yet nearly every hitter on the roster checks in with him regularly.
Asked to describe Ramirez’s role, manager Joe Maddon made it sound like a liaison to the club’s “Hispanic culture.” Young slugger Kyle Schwarber shrugged at the same question, saying finally “I just know he’s Manny.”
There’s no questioning Ramirez’s resumé when it comes to teaching hitting. Over 19 big league seasons, he was a 12-time all-star, a World Series MVP and two-time champion with the Red Sox, a nine-time winner of the Silver Slugger award and one of only 27 players to hit at least 500 career home runs.
His credentials for teaching young players how to conduct themselves, on the other hand, are a lot more mixed.
The phrase “Manny being Manny” entered the game’s lexicon to capture some of the hijinks Ramirez delighted in during his playing days.
But not all his stunts were quite so lighthearted.
Ramirez ran afoul of baseball’s performance-enhancing ban twice and regularly turned contract talks into drawn-out negotiations.
Incidents like that made it seem even stranger that Ramirez would wind up with the Cubs.
The one thing that hasn’t changed is Ramirez’s appetite for hard work. That endeared him to teammates everywhere.