Manny Ramirez is the most fascinating man in baseball, if not all of sports. Is there any person that gets so much media attention, yet we know so little about? I feel like we have a decent grasp of ARod – money-loving, can’t really handle the pressure when it gets too much, breeds jealousy because he has signed such big contracts and made so much money. Same goes for T.O., I feel like I get what he is all about: needs more attention than a 2 year old boy – just lives off of the attention, and can’t stand not having all eyes on him. But Manny, on the other, completely baffles me, always has, likely always will. Oh, and the one differentiator between himself and the other media-sucking athletes, is that for the most part, people really like Manny – not sure the same goes for the Arods and TOs of the world. This video from his arrival at spring training last week only helped remind me of this.
In the most valiant effort to date, and an absolutely intriguing read, Bill Simmons tried to figure out Manny in his 9,000 words effort back in October. After reading, however, I actually felt Simmons had undertaken an impossible task. As the last 5 months of Manny’s contract negotiations have played out, I find the man only more mysterious, difficult to figure out, and most of all fascinating.
What drives Manny Ramirez? Is it money? Is it being able to simply hit baseballs really hard without being hassled? Is it winning baseball games and championships? Is it being considered one of the best players of all time? Is it constantly surprising people and repeatedly doing the opposite of what people expect? Is the poor guy simply manipulated by those around him, and a puppet used to obtain their goals? Is it being able to be free and act as he pleases, without consequence? Is it something else entirely, that my brain-washed, US-culture-formed mind can’t even begin to comprehend? (And for the record, I could continue with these for another 250 words – but I shall spare you).
Based on Simmons’ piece, it would appear it isn’t the money itself that motivates the man – he leaves $900k+ checks uncashed in his locker. I bet ARod doesn’t do that.
It seems that winning championships isn’t the answer either. If that were the case, he wouldn’t force a trade away from a division leading team as it marches towards a playoff spot, with the chance of being traded to a non-contender, as he did last season.
It is unlikely that his major motivator is going down as one of the very best ever. Sure he will go into the Hall Of Fame, barring any unforeseen stories, but based on his behavior, both forcing the trade, and demanding to be sat for big games, as he did throughout his Red Sox tenure, he simply doesn’t and won’t have the reputation as one of the very best ever.
One anecdote after another can be used to shoot down each and every hypothesis. ‘He is too calculated’, ‘he really knows exactly what he is doing, and we are the puppets’, ‘he is just having fun, leave him alone’. Whatever it is, and clearly I have no idea, this is why people absolutely love him. Even after last season’s drama, many Red Sox fans, Simmons included, miss Manny. He isn’t too concerned with his image, isn’t too concerned with how he is conceived, isn’t too concerned with exactly how much he makes, isn’t too concerned with whether he is considered the best ever, or just one of the top 5 right handed hitters ever. He just plays the game his way, has fun doing it, plays really well, and entertains the fans in a way that no one else does. And at the end of the day, isn’t that why we watch, why we cheer, and why this video makes Manny so endearing?
