Manny Ramirez Arrested; Charged with Battery

Manny Ramirez was arrested Monday night on charges of battery.  The police were called to Ramirez’s home in Weston, Florida after a domestic dispute was reported.  After his wife accused Ramirez of slapping her across the face, he was taken out of the home in handcuffs.

Ramirez’s wife, Juliana, told police that she was hit in the face by Manny.  The blow then reportedly caused her to fall back into her bed’s headboard, against which she struck her head.  Juliana became fearful at that point and decided to call the police before anything else happened.

Ramirez denies that he struck his wife, instead saying that “he grabbed his wife by the shoulders and when he shrugged her, she hit her head”.  But police say that the injuries Juliana sustained are consistent with her story.

Ramirez officially retired from baseball earlier this season after spending only 5 games with the Tampa Bay Rays.  Ramirez signed with the Rays this offseason with the thought that he would become the club’s designated hitter.  But Ramirez only managed one hit over his first 17 at bats.

Word then broke of Ramirez having failed yet another test for performance-enhancing drugs.  This second failed test carried with it a ban of 100 games.  Instead of taking the punishment, Ramirez decided abruptly to retire.

Ramirez spent 19 seasons in the Majors playing for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, LA Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Rays.  The slugger finished with a career line of .312/.411/.585.  Ramirez collected 555 home runs, 547 doubles, 2574 hits and 1831 RBI’s while being selected to 12 All-Star games.

While this certainly isn’t the same as taking PED’s, these charges will become yet another black eye on an otherwise solid statistical Major League career.