If an MVP ballot had to be filled out on May 1, Manny Ramirez would have to be at the top. There are five months to go, but would you bet against him being at the top at the end of September?
The award is one of the few things that has eluded Ramirez, though he is probably the best pure hitter of his time. Always, there has been that little something missing — a slow start, bad defense, a controversy, an injury or a monster season by someone else — that has stood between Ramirez and the MVP. And, like a 97 mph Kyle Farnsworth fastball whistling past his chin, this doesn’t seem to faze him.
Ramirez has never been about validation — until, perhaps, now. And that’s what makes him even scarier. In the past, he could hit .220 in the first few weeks, then seem to wake up and say, ‘Hey, I should be hitting .300,” and turn it on. In 2008, he’s been on from day one for a reason.
“I want to play four more years, so I have to play my (butt) off,” he told Red Sox radio announcers after a game-winning home run against Texas on April 19. “Why not? I feel like a kid.”
In his first game at Yankee Stadium, playing for the Indians late in 1993, Ramirez hit two home runs and narrowly missed a third. When that ball bounced into the stands for a double, Ramirez, unaware, kept trotting as if the ball went out. He smiled sheepishly. His teammates laughed, and Ramirez, who turns 36 this month, is playing with the same exuberance.
Ramirez was hitting .317 with six home runs and 23 RBI through Sunday. The timing of so many hits and home runs in April were impeccable. He beat the Yankees twice with a few swings, and he beat the Rangers with a tremendous eighth-inning shot.
And it’s times like this, with David Ortiz hitting .198, that emphasize an overlooked point for the Red Sox. Ortiz has always had Manny hitting behind him. Who has been hitting behind Manny? It doesn’t seem to matter, because while he won’t swing at bad pitches, Ramirez has never been one to take borderline pitches, pray for a walk and leave the big hit for someone else.
As the Yankees’ Mike Mussina and Joe Girardi found out on April 12, pitching carefully doesn’t work. With first base open, Mussina got a pitch within range of Ramirez’s bat, and Ramirez rammed it into right-center for the two most important RBI of the game.
If Ramirez has a secret, it’s his mastery of the most important psychological edge in sports: losing the fear of failure. When he declared it wouldn’t be the end of the world if the Red Sox were eliminated in Cleveland in October, many didn’t get it. But Ramirez and the Red Sox did, and that’s why they weren’t eliminated.
Ramirez put some playful pressure on himself when he promised to hit his 500th homer during April. He didn’t make it, but at 496 he likes to say, “I’m already there.” He’s going for 600. Maybe 700, he suggested after hitting two off Mussina at Yankee Stadium on April 17.
“I don’t let nobody get in my head,” Ramirez told MLB.com.
Actually, Ramirez is letting someone get into his head this spring: the fans. That may be the most delightful development of all. He is talking, giving people a glimpse of what makes him tick, saying things like his goal is to send his children to college and have a beer with them when they’re old enough. His philosophy: This won’t last forever, so enjoy it while it does.
So what is behind this Ramirez renaissance? The usual. His contract. The Red Sox have tried every which way to get out from under the eight-year, $160 million contract Dan Duquette gave Ramirez in 2001, but nothing, not even putting him on waivers, worked. If it had, The Curse would be alive and pushing 90 right now.
It’s turned out to be Boston’s best spent money since Tom Yawkey bought Jimmie Foxx. Now the Red Sox would be content to pick up their two option years, at $20 million each, to keep Ramirez around. It won’t be that simple. Ramirez, who started talking about a six-year extension, is now talking about four.
What do the Red Sox do here? There is no doubt that a four-year extension for Ramirez, based on his hitting, would be a solid investment, a reasonable risk.
But can Ramirez play the outfield for four more years? He seems to recognize that is a key and is getting after it more. If the Red Sox were forced to DH him, that would leave no place to play Ortiz. Having to choose one or the other would be a nightmare, assuming Ortiz gets over his early-season doldrums and ends up with a typical season.
Ah, but these are problems to be ironed out in November. This is May, and one should take a cue from Ramirez. Just enjoy watching Manny enjoy himself. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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