Will Manny Ramirez push closer to Hall of Fame induction? Let’s see

The National Baseball Hall of Fame sent out the ballot for the 2020 class this week to veteran members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, and Yankees great Derek Jeter is the only one who appears destined to cruise to election when the class is announced in January.

A year after legendary Yankees and Panamanian closer Mariano Rivera was the first unanimous Hall of Fame selection by the BBWAA, his former teammate Jeter highlights the 18 new candidates on this year’s ballot. Will Jeter be the second unanimous selection? Will Omar Vizquel and Andruw Jones see major bumps, as expected?

Will voters give more consideration to former Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez now that the ballot isn’t clogged up as badly as it has been for the previous eight years? That’s the question we ask today?

Former Phillies great Bobby Abreu, the pride of Venezuela, and Alfonso Soriano, are the top two new Latino candidates on the ballot. Of those two, Abreu might have the easiest path to Cooperstown, N.Y., once BBWAA members take a close look at his career.

There are 14 holdovers on this year’s ballot, including Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramírez, Vizquel, and Jones. Eric Chávez, Rafael Furcal, Raúl Ibañez, Carlos Peña and José Valverde are the other new Latinos on the ballot.

Today, we take a look at the Hall of Fame candidacy of the man who made the line “Manny being Manny” possible.

.312/.411/.585 — 69.2 WAR — 54.5 JAWS

By Efraín Ruiz Pantin

Named after his father and the ancient Athenian statesman, Manuel Arístides Ramírez was born in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. But Manny began forging his legend at age 13 in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan. He was renowned for playing baseball all day and training harder than anyone else, running up hills and dragging 20-pound tires tied to his waist by a rope.

He was a .650 hitter at George Washington High School, the same institution that produced Hall of Famer Rod Carew and la reina del merengue Milly Quezada. Voted New York City Player of the Year, he was drafted 13th overall by the Indians in 1991. It took him only two years to reach the majors. Despite his indifferent fielding in left field and frequent goofy behavior, he became one of the greatest right-handed hitters in history.

Manny being Manny included a career .312 average, 555 home runs and 1,831 RBI. His .411 OBP is the 32nd-best in history and his .996 OPS the eighth-highest. He won two World Series and earned 12 All-Star selections, nine Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards and one batting title.

The case for Ramírez

He had five 40-homer seasons, nine consecutive 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons. He is the only batter in the past 60 years — and third after Hall of Famers Hank Greenberg and Jimmie Foxx — to retire with a slash line of .312/.411/.585 or better. While his antics drove you crazy — going for a bathroom break inside the Green Monster in the middle of a game — he rose to the occasion. He hit 29 postseason dingers, more than anyone else, and was the 2004 World Series MVP.

The case against Ramírez

The Steroid Era. And two positive drug tests. Unlike his contemporaries Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who have never failed doping controls, Ramirez was caught in 2009 and 2011. The second time, instead of serving a 100-game suspension at age 39, he retired from Major League Baseball — but not from the game. He played for the EDA Rhinos (now the Fubon Guardians) in Taiwan in the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 2013 and for the Kochi Fighting Dogs in a Japanese independent leagues.

What the metrics say

Nearly every metric confirms that Ramirez played at a Hall of Fame level. He hit a home run every 14.85 at-bats, the 10th-best ratio all-time. His 69.2 WAR is significantly higher than the 64.5 average for the 20 left-fielders enshrined in Cooperstown. And his 54.5 JAWS — which averages career WAR with a player’s seven-year peak WAR — is also higher than the 53.3 HOF average for his position. Imagine if he hadn’t neglected his fielding and base running?

Greatest moment

He mixed artistry with raw power. He loved the big stage and there’s a long list of timely and epic blasts. One of our favorites came in Game 2 of the 2007 ALDS against the Angels. Facing Francisco “K-Rod” Rodríguez in the bottom of the ninth at Fenway Park in a tied affair, he hit a three-run walk-off home run to win the game, 6-3. He admired the majestic shot as it arched high over left field, raised both arms in triumph and turned to look at the crowd before beginning his trot home. No one knew then that Ramirez would be shipped out of town the following season, but for one last shining moment, he owned Boston.

Fact you probably don’t know

He seemed to be a hitting savant, but he also worked at his craft. His shenanigans overshadowed his dedication and discipline. He arrived at the ballpark at 10 a.m. Lifted weights. Studied video. You can argue that his seemingly aloof nature helped him stay relaxed at the plate and in pressure situations. Pitchers hated Manny being Manny.

“He has his issues,” David Ortiz said about Manny. “But as a player, he did what he was supposed to do.”

Featured Image: Brian Bahr / Getty Images Sport

Inset Image: Mitchell Layton / Getty Images Sport