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October 25, 2007
Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
BY KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer
BOSTON – Years from now, Red Sox fans will want to tell their children just how well Manny Ramirez hit the baseball in the 2007 postseason.
Sox fans have seen Ramirez at his very best this October. In baseball jocular, he’s ‘locked in,’ driving the ball to all fields, working pitchers until they bleed and playing the part of the most feared right-handed hitter of this decade.
Consider this eye-popping stat. In 34 at-bats this post-season, Ramirez has 15 hits and 15 walks. His on-base percentage is a ridiculous .600. In Game One of the World Series, Ramirez kept rolling with three hits, three runs scored and two RBI in Boston’s 13-1 romp.
Ramirez had two homers in the ALCS to set the league record for most home runs in the playoffs (24) and the LCS (10). He entered last night with 64 post-season RBI, second all-time behind the Yankees’ Bernie Williams (80).
Those closest to Ramirez say that the hitter fans see every game may be blessed but he’s also a prodigious worker. He’s been known to arrive at the ballpark at 9 a.m. for a 7 p.m. game, working out and hitting hundreds of balls in the Sox indoor batting cage. He also enjoys lifting weights and works with self-made gadgets that help hone the amazing hand-eye coordination that is any hitter’s best friend.
“Well, I think Manny gets a bad rap,” said teammate Mike Lowell, who hits right after Ramirez. “I think people look at him and think he comes out on the field ten minutes before the game and starts hitting. His preparation is very routine. He does a lot of visualization drills that I think are unique to baseball players. He does a lot of things visually and he does very specific stuff on the tee. So there’s an absolute method to how he wants to approach the game. His talent is unbelievable.”
The one skill that’s helped make Ramirez’s month is his ability to grind opposing pitchers and wait for the pitch he likes most. He owns the ability to foul off a bevy of good pitches and then jump all over a mistake. It’s a trait followed by the rest of the Red Sox lineup but perfected by Ramirez.
In one daily drill, he wears a Hula Hoop-type device with numbered balls attached. He then calls out the numbers as he moves, improving his hand-eye skills and quickness.
“I think Manny, however you put it, I think he’s one of, if not the very best, at that that I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing to me,” manager Terry Francona said of his star’s mastery of the strike zone. “As far as being a sophisticated hitter, I’d love for you guys to be able to see what he does pre-game. His ability to recognize, it’s a joke. There are some things that he can do that other people can’t do. But he also spends a lot of time watching pitchers, and he’s got an unbelievable idea of what people are going to try to do against him.”
Ramirez is also greatly assisted by hitting between Ortiz and Lowell. With Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis setting the table, Ortiz and Ramirez have loads of chances to rack up RBI’s. Opposing pitchers haven’t found a way to pitch to either Ortiz or Ramirez, who’ve combined to reach base 58 of 100 times in the first 11 games of the playoffs, a .580 on-base percentage.
Lowell has played on several good teams through his career, including the 2003 World Series champion Florida Marlins. He says the Ortiz-Ramirez combination easily separates the two teams.
“This lineup is much more formidable than the ’03 Marlins in the sense that with the two guys (Ortiz, Ramirez) in the middle, you have two guys other teams are absolutely scared that they can hit the ball out of the park,” Lowell said.
Fans know all about the quirks that make Ramirez a true spectacle, whether he’s jogging to fly balls in left field, failing to advance to an open base or teasing teammates in the dugout. But with a bat in his hands, no one can take their eyes off Ramirez.
“I think he recognizes pitches a lot earlier than a lot of guys because it seems like he does not even intend to swing at some pitches and they look like they’re two inches off the plate,” Lowell said. “I don’t know, he might be guessing, but it’s happened too many times to think that he’s guessed right all those times. I think he recognizes pitches and I think when he’s on, he doesn’t have any weaknesses.”
Posted by Art Martone 
at 9:53 PM | Permalink
Thom Cahir | October 25, 2007 10:06 PM link
Manny in a hula-hoop? Now that I'd like to see.