2004 was a year Manny Ramirez will never forget. It started with a blow to the ego, as it was publicly disclosed that the Sox had placed him on waivers, and any team could pick him up. "Manny for nothing" was the headline in da Box. When it was all over, Manny was still in Boston and had posted his 10th straight Hall of Fame quality season (.308/.397/.613), made his 7th post-season appearance (at the age of 32), and been fitted for his first World Series ring. Zero to hero in nine months.
Manny was Cleveland's 1st round pick (13th overall) in the 1991 draft, and it was clear from the beginning that he could hit. He went .326/.426/.679 in rookie ball the remainder of that year, and slipped to .278/.379/.502 in A ball the following year. In 1993, he was Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year, as he started at double A Canton-Akron and hit .340/.414/.581, went totally ballistic at triple A Charlotte (.317 with 14 homers in 142 ABs), and then had a cup of coffee in the majors. After a fine rookie year in 1994 (.269/.357/.521) at age 22, he emerged as a great player in 1995. He has been a consistent .300 hitter with tremendous power and very fine plate discipline since. It's a simple combination, but it adds up to offensive excellence.
Ramirez is a poor baserunner and defensive outfielder, albeit with an average arm. He now has 297 post-season at-bats, and has posted a respectable .256/.351/.478 line.
For Ramirez' chart, we have an interesting age 32 comparison. Barry Bonds age 32 season was in 1997.
Player G AB H HR W BA OBP SLUG OPS+ Ramirez 1535 5572 1760 390 874 .316 .411 .599 156 Robinson 1916 7033 2117 418 929 .302 .392 .556 156 Bonds 1742 6069 1750 374 1227 .288 .408 .551 162 Simmons 1524 5243 1783 240 431 .354 .398 .574 145 Williams 1633 6331 1861 291 629 .294 .358 .502 137
As a hitter, Ramirez is a lot closer to Robinson and Bonds than to Al Simmons and Billy Williams. Bonds of course had tremendous speed when he was young, and was an excellent fielder. Robby was an average defensive outfielder, but a fine baserunner in the fullback mode.
Ramirez is quite clearly on a Hall of Fame track- .310 hitters with 550 career homers don't grow on trees. Three to four more seasons will do it.
Next up: Sammy Sosa.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050222101112128