“I’m at ease,” Ramirez told ESPNdeportes.com by phone from his home in Miami. “God knows what’s best (for me). I’m now an officially retired baseball player. I’ll be going away on a trip to Spain with my old man.” Shows how much justice there is in being a baseball player these days. In his career, Manny Ramirez hit 555 home runs, 1,831 RBI, a .312 average, 2,574 hits, and 12 All Star Game bids. A first-ballot Hall of Famer – until he was caught with steroids multiple times in the last two years. He got suspended for 50 games in 2009. He was caught again early in 2011, and instead of facing the 100-game suspension, he decided to abruptly retire.
Two days before retiring, Manny’s new manager, Joe Maddon, wanted to help. Manny had started just 1-for-16, so he wanted to give Ramirez a day off. “I’ve been around players like that [first ballot Hall of Famers] in the past, and I think at some point it takes a different understanding from whomever’s working with them. From me to him, I just want him to understand that I do know what he’s going through, and I want to help him out.” How does Manny react? He retires. See ya. Thanks for the support.
Manny is probably the most successful right handed hitter of the last 15 years, but he’s undoubtedly the most selfish and most disappointing of any player. The Rays, already 0-5 with Manny, would have to move on. They saw outfielder Sam Fuld get more playing time. So who is Sam Fuld?
A Stanford alum, he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the tenth round. He signed. ”I want to try my hand. It’s been a lifelong dream, really, to play professional baseball. I just love it too much not to give it a shot.” He hit .300 with five homers and 18 steals in A ball with Peoria. He hit .300 again the next year in High A. In between Double and Triple A in 2007, he hit .287. He’s a scrappy player. He won’t hit many home runs, but he gets on base (.372 career OBP in the minors), can steal bases (106 steals), and just hits the ball (649 hits in 619 games). He’s also very good defensively.
In 2009 and 2010, he received minimal playing time with the Cubs, with one homer, five RBI, a .264 average, and five more walks than strikeouts. Impressive enough, but not a big sample size. He deserved more playing time, but in a crowded outfield, with Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd, and Kosuke Fukudome, playing time for Fuld would be a surprise. Even with that, he became a fan favorite for constant hustle, no-fear attitude, and great defense. Some even referred to him as a ”manager’s dream and a trainer’s worst nightmare.”
However, when the Rays traded Matt Garza and two minor leaguers to the Cubs, Fuld, along with Hak-Ju Lee, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos, and Chris Archer were sent to Tampa. The Rays coaching staff and management love him.
Manager Joe Maddon: ”He’s a major-league baseball player right now…. He’s been needing opportunity, he’s probably going to get the opportunity here right now. A very, very good defender. He has really great instincts out there, and a fine arm. He works excellent at-bats…. If somebody were to get hurt, this guy could fill in on a regular basis for a while. He’s not going to be overwhelmed by anything. Great makeup…. He’s a pretty tough kid.”
GM Andrew Friedman: ”He’s a guy with a very interesting profile. He’s a plus defender in all three (outfield) spots, with superior contact skills, and a really good ability to discern balls and strikes … and an ability to hit line drives with … high frequency.”
Hitting coach Derek Shelton: ”[Fuld's] contact ratio is off the charts. He has probably one of the shortest swings I’ve ever seen.”
It hasn’t taken Fuld long to make an impact. When a team starts badly, like the Rays (2-8) have, it allows the team to see some young guys who might not get playing time in other scenarios. Fuld has played in eight of the team’s ten games, and has a .321 average, a homer, three RBI, and a .387 on base percentage. Just outstanding. In a game against the White Sox which the Rays lost, 4-2, Fuld made a spectacular catch – easily the play of the year. White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski was amazed, saying ”that catch … is one of the best catches I’ve ever seen. Honestly, he ran like 50 yards to get to that ball. It was an incredible catch … an amazing play.”
That brings us to the cycle game. In a 16-5 win over Boston, he went 4-for-6 with a homer, two doubles, a triple, three RBI, and three runs scored. His team was leading 15-3, and he was just a single away from the cycle. He already had a homer, double, and triple. He hit a line drive into left field, and it looked like a double. However, he needed a single for the cycle – stay, right? Nope. Not Sam. He hustled into second to help his team. He doesn’t care about individual accomplishments, he’s all about the team.
Fortunately for baseball, we have an Anti-Manny.
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