Manny Ramirez wants to play baseball again at the major league level. He’s been reinstated this offseason, and is willing to serve a reduced sentence of 50 games in order to eventually make it back onto the playing field. Unfortunately for Manny, few teams have showed anything resembling interest in him this offseason. With spring training quickly approaching, Ramirez is selling a new side of himself to potential employers. Manny Ramirez is ready to become a role model.
After announcing his un-retirement earlier this offseason, Ramirez set off in search of his next team. Instead of having teams come to him, as he’d become accustomed to, Ramirez was himself reaching out to individual clubs. Manny made calls during the winter meetings and held batting practice for prospective suitors.
Now, Ramirez tells ESPN’s Pedro Gomez that he is hoping to land a tryout with a major league team. Manny hopes this would result in an opportunity to join a club this spring an ultimately make a major league roster.
While he believes he can still play, Ramirez also wants to show teams that “Manny can change, that he can do the right thing”. Ramirez apparently regrets how his career ended last year, saying he doesn’t “want to leave the game” like he did.
Instead, Ramirez wants to show his kids that “if you make a mistake, don’t quit. Just go back and fix it”. Along with fixing mistakes, Ramirez wants to show people that if “you’re going to leave, leave the right way”.
Ramirez believes that people will eventually look back at him and say “hey, this guy made a mistake but he didn’t quit. Look how he finished. He did the right thing and came back”.
Unfortunately for Manny, desire alone will not get him back into a major league lineup. The Blue Jays and Orioles are the only clubs that have been tied to Ramirez this offseason, and even their interest is limited at best. Manny’s only real position is designated hitter, and there are several other viable DH options remaining on the free agent market that carry far less baggage than Man-Ram.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.