Manny was Manny

I've sat and waited for the gutless Ramirez to make a public statement regarding his latest misadventure.  Nothing from Manny.  Apparently he's comfortable slinking away, hiding in the shadows or going to Spain or whatever it is that he is going to do now that his playing days are over.

Unlike many Rays fans, I'm not that steamed at Ramirez.  We knew about Manny's track record of pushing down elderly traveling secretaries.  We knew about his holding teams hostage with vague injuries and attitude problems.  We knew of his dabbling in female fertility drugs.  How could we realistically expect ANYTHING from him?  Players and writers were buzzing over the shape Ramirez was in this Spring.  His latest transgression against the MLB/MLBPA's joint venture against PEDs is likely the reason he was looking so stout.  But at 38 years of age, did we really think Manny was gonna be a true game-changer in his Tampa Bay duds?

Optimistically, I'd only expected around 300 plate appearances from the dreaded derelict.  While this certainly won't happen, and Tampa Bay fans will likely never get an explanation as to the precise events surrounding Manny's downfall, I am truly surprised about the amount of negative press Manny Ramirez has received to close the final chapter of his career.  So instead of bashing him, I'm going to celebrate this guy, who in my opinion was the best right-handed hitter of his era.

Manny's rookie year was the strike shortened season of 1994.  From the get-go Ramirez displayed a propensity for power, as he slugged a solid .521.  His power-packed effort wasn't enough to garner the Rookie of the Year in '94, and he was edged out by household name Bob Hamelin for the award.

In his next season, Manny broke out for a triple slash line of .308/.402/.558, helping the Cleveland Indians to their first pennant in over four decades.  1995 also marked the first season in which Manny would clock 30 home runs.  He reached this plateau in 11 more seasons, placing him behind only Hank Aaron (15),  Alex Rodriguez (14 and counting), Barry Bonds (14), Babe Ruth (13) and Mike Schmidt (13) for number of 30+ HR campaigns.  And for those of you who are more sabermetrically-inclined, 1995 also began a stretch of 16 seasons in which Man-Ram would log a wRC+ of at least 140.

Manny would bang away in Cleveland through the 2000 season, amassing 236 HR and 804 RBI in his eight seasons with the Tribe.  Following the 2000 season, the Boston Red Sox and Ramirez agreed to terms on an 8-year/$200 million deal, which at the time was the most lucrative contract in professional sports history.

It's with the Red Sox that Manny broke out of his shell, giving us the precocious left fielder who would high five fans mid-catch, sneak away to take a leak in the Green Monster and help Boston break up the Curse of the Bambino.  It's hard to pick one season as Manny's best in Boston because they were all pretty darned good.  He clotted 274 bombs in his eight seasons in Beantown, posting a .312/.411/.588 line there.  His time in Boston yielded a batting title in '02 (.349) and a home run title in '04 (43) to go along with his World Series MVP in that historic 2004 title run for the Sox.  In teaming up with Big Papi David Ortiz, the duo produced the most dangerous 3-4 combo since Ruth-Gehrig and helped Boston capture yet another World Series title in 2007.

However, Manny wore out his welcome in Boston during the '08 season.  After an altercation with 64-year old traveling secretary Jack McCormick, and his demands for a trade, the BoSox jettisoned their once-beloved slugger out West, to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Manny blistered NL pitching in his 53 games for the Dodgers that season.  He smashed 17 round-trippers in 229 at-bats, while reaching an ungodly 211 wRC+ for his brief time in L.A. during '08.

This performance got him another big payday.  In March of 2009, he inked a two-year contract for $45 million to remain in Dodger blue.  Mannywood failed to come to fruition because it was discovered that Ramirez had tested positive for hCG, a drug used by dopers to come off their recent steroid cycles.  Manny was suspended 50 games in 2009 and his legacy was substantially damaged. Although he posted solid numbers to round out '09 (.290/.418/.538, 145 wRC+), his 2010 season left a bad taste in the mouth of Dodger fans.  Manny began to sit out games with phantom injuries in 2010, which ultimately caused Dodger management to ship Ramirez off to the Chicago White Sox.  He underwhelmed in Chicago slugging a lowly .319, which again brought his hustle and character into question.

This brings us up to date on the slugger.  Manny went just 1-for-17 as a Ray before news broke of yet another PED violation, this one carrying a mandatory 100-game suspension.  Instead of taking his lumps like a man, honoring his contract and possibly taking some of the tarnish of his credibility, Manny was Manny and opted to hang 'em up.

I'm not mad and I don't blame him.  This is where I'm different than most of us in Rays Nation.

He's a legend and would get my vote for the Hall of Fame if I could cast a ballot.  This is where I'm different than virtually every MLB media pundit.

I understand his steroid use is a definite blemish on the game.  That is without question.

What should be in question is the reliability and integrity of those same pundits who have been covering our great game.  These are the same people who were beating a path to Ramirez' locker while he put up his bloated numbers from '93 til his dirty test in 2009.  Tom Verducci and Ken Rosenthal proclaim their non-vote for Manny on national TV.  But where were these outspoken, upstanding remarks during the 25 plus seasons of the Steroid era?  What hypocrites!  All these beat writers, SI editors, and baseball insiders who were in the locker rooms, on the fields and in the press boxes, watching guys hulk up over the Steroid Era are a joke.  They were suckling at the teat of Manny and other drug-abusers 10 years ago, now they step out like they're profound and sterling in reputation, to bash a fallen star.

I have a theory:  The most outspoken, anti-juicers covering the game today are likely the same who have the most guilt for letting it happen for so long.

That's why instead of hating on Manny Ramirez, I celebrate a great career, and acknowledge that a once-in-a-lifetime entertainer has called it quits.  His 555 HR (14th all-time) and 1831 RBI (18th all-time) should be celebrated, not frowned upon.  It's too difficult to figure out who was or wasn't juicing from this era, and unless we're going to scrap this whole generation of ballplayers, we're going to have to learn to embrace some of these "bad guys".  So long Manny Ramirez, no let's hope the Rays can get a friggin' hit!