Ramirez wants to play in Taiwan
Manny Ramirez, nearly 48 years old, is dusting off his spikes and gearing up for another comeback.
The 12-time All-Star wants to play for the Chinese Professional Baseball League again, but this time as a player-coach. Ramirez hopes to appear in a major league game as soon as this year, he told Mark Buckton of the Taiwan Times.
“My goal for 2020, is to find a roster spot in the CPBL,” Ramirez said. “I have been itching to get back in the batter’s box and be able to compete again. … I know if I was given the opportunity to come in an organization as a playercoach, it would do great things for the organization and the league.”
After retiring from Major League Baseball in 2011 with 555 career home runs that were tainted by his PED use, Ramirez took his talent overseas and played for the CPBL’s EDA Rhinos in 2013. He also played for the Kochi Island Fighting Dogs in Japan’s independent Shikoku Island League in 2017.
Ramirez said he was treated like “baseball royalty” during his 49-game stint with the Rhinos, which were renamed the Fubon Guardians in 2016. He slashed .352/.422/.555 with eight home runs and 43 RBI before opting out of his contract halfway through the season to return to the U.S. and be closer to his family.
The CPBL, based in Taiwan, became the only professional league to open a baseball season amid the COVID-19 pandemic when it launched on April 12. It consists of five teams and, with no fans in the stadiums and social distancing regulations in place, has so far successfully conducted games despite coronavirus-related challenges.
The league is broadcasting its games with Englishspeaking announcers on Eleven Sports Taiwan, which can be viewed via Twitter in the United States. Ramirez said he wakes up at 6 a.m. every morning to watch teams like the Fubon Guardians face off against the Rakuten Monkeys. He currently lives in South Florida with his wife and three sons.
“I can never get enough of the game,” Ramirez said. “To this day, I still mix in swinging a bat in my daily routine.”
MLB teams offer ticket refunds: The St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox announced ticket refund policies for games not played through May because of the virus outbreak, with some Major League Baseball teams offering plans for cash returns and bonus credit.
A day after MLB told clubs they could decide their own ticket refund policies, several did.
The Minnesota Twins will credit season ticket holders for missed games, plus give an additional 15% credit of that amount to be used for 2020 or 2021 purchases.
The Cleveland Indians said fans who had tickets for home games this March and April could receive a 10% bonus credit for a game later in 2020 or 2021. The Red Sox extended a similar bonus credit to season ticket holders.