In minors, it’s Manny being 40 and faithful
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Manny Ramirez won’t get to celebrate his 40th birthday today with a promotion to the major leagues. While that prayer will go unanswered, his reservoir of newfound faith remains plentiful.
Ramirez, who is eligible to return today from a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, has been proclaiming a strong commitment to religion since joining the Oakland Athletics in spring training after a turbulent year.
He has not played in the majors since April 6, 2011, but says he’s in no hurry.
“I’m patient,” Ramirez told USA TODAY Sports in a Spanish-language interview after going 2-for-4 with the Class AAA Sacramento River Cats on Monday. “Once you take God’s path, you don’t dictate where you go. He’s the one in control.”
The A’s, losers of six in a row through Monday and desperate for offensive production, initially were expected to activate the 2004 World Series MVP as soon as possible.
Now they’re taking a wait-andsee approach, hoping his once-powerful bat will regain its life. Ramirez is batting .250 in nine games with the River Cats, and all eight of his hits have been singles.
“We want to make sure Manny feels he is 100% ready when we pull the trigger on this move,” A’s assistant general manager David Forst said in a conference call Tuesday.
Ramirez has not hit effectively in the majors since the middle of the 2010 season, when he batted .366 in June for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After missing most of July and August with leg injuries, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox and produced two extra-base hits and two RBI in 69 at-bats.
Last season, he was 1-for-17 in five games with the Tampa Bay Rays
before retiring rather than face a 100-game ban for a second drug-related infraction. The first one came in 2009 when he was with the Dodgers, resulting in a 50-game suspension.
The second penalty was commuted to 50 games because he sat out most of last season, but its impact is significant nonetheless, especially at his age.
Even though Ramirez looks fit and strong, his .250 slugging percentage with the River Cats is hardly reminiscent of the player who has hit 555 home runs in the majors, 14th on the all-time list.
“You miss a year, it’s going to take a lot,” he said. “You see a lot of guys in the big leagues, and here they play the whole year and they’re still trying to get it.”
Ramirez did not seem to attach special meaning to returning to the majors on his birthday, saying he would leave that up to God, one of several religious references he made during an eight-minute conversation.
His friend and spiritual adviser, fellow Dominican Republic native Aurys Capellan, said Ramirez embraced religion this past fall after being charged with misdemeanor domestic violence stemming from an incident with his wife, Juliana, at their Florida home.
The charge was dropped when she refused to cooperate with the investigation.
The couple remain together, and she and their two boys plan to join him in Oakland once the A’s call him up.
“When you’re walking around the world blindly and you see yourself in the mirror, you say, ‘I need a change,’ ” Ramirez said. “My eyes were opened.”
Capellan, who accompanies Ramirez at home and on the road, said the 12-time All-Star wanted to prove he was a different person from the player whose quirky, sometimes erratic behavior gave rise to the phrase “Manny being Manny.”
That behavior included once shoving the Boston Red Sox traveling secretary to the floor during an argument and, according to some teammates and club officials, quitting on the Red Sox and Dodgers when his relationship with those teams went south.
Capellan says Ramirez made a point of getting to the ballpark at 5:30 a.m. every day during extended spring training to set an example for younger players.
Ramirez made more than $200 million during an 18-year major league career that featured two World Series championships. His current make-good contract calls for a $500,000 salary when he joins the big club, prorated to $345,000 because of the suspension.
That and his willingness to hone his game in the minors back up Ramirez’s contention that he merely wanted a chance to play again.
“You’re doing something you enjoy; that’s always worth it,” Ramirez said of his stint in the minors. “We have work, we’re doing something we like, the family is fine. What more can we ask the Lord?”
An extra-base hit would be nice, but maybe that’ll come in time.