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July 25, 2007
Manny continued to post amazing numbers against Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia, going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles off him last night to improve his lifetime stats against Sabathia to 12-for-21, a .571 average. Tonight, the Red Sox hope Ramirez will once again be batting behind David Ortiz. Terry Francona hopes the opportunity Ramirez has had to be a designated hitter the last few games has given Manny some rest, and that that will pay off later in the season.
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe looks back today on Manny Ramirez's tremendous 1999 season with the Cleveland Indians. Batting cleanup in a stacked Indians lineup, Ramirez had 108 RBI by the end of July, and completed the season with 165 RBI, 131 runs scored, 44 home runs and a .333 batting average. Alex Rodriguez recently became the first player to reach 100 RBI in fewer than 100 games since Ramirez in 1999.
Former Red Sox outfielder Dave Roberts was with Cleveland that season, and he sums it up: "I've been around him for a long time, including in 2004 with Boston, but that year in '99, man oh man. You couldn't wait for Manny to come to the plate."
As Red Sox fans will remember, Ramirez's fantastic season fizzled out big time in the playoffs. He went 1-for-18 with a double and one RBI as the Red Sox came back from a two-game deficit to beat the Indians in the best-of-five American League Divisional Playoff Series.
Ryan Garko, one of the Indians young hitting stars, introduced himself to Ramirez before Tuesday night's game at the Jake, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Here's an excerpt from the story: "At one point, Ramirez, the Red Sox's designated hitter Tuesday night, flapped his arms repeatedly while laughing and pointing toward the outfield. 'He was telling me about a ball he hit [Monday],' Garko said. 'I told Manny how much I enjoy watching him play. One of the things he told me was how much he likes playing in Cleveland.'
From the who knew? department: Manny Ramirez's home run earlier this season against Seattle's Horacio Ramirez was the first-ever Ramirez-off-Ramirez home run in baseball history. You can find out this and other interesting facts in USA Today's story about home run historian David Vincent.
An observation from the blog Sedition in Red Sox Nation, inspired by the ESPN series The Bronx is Burning: "Reggie Jackson was a lot like Manny Ramirez back in the day. If only Reggie didn't talk to the press, he might have been Reggie being Reggie long before Manny started being Manny.
Posted by Mike McDermott 
at 2:04 PM to Projo Mannybeingmanny
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