LOS ANGELES — In the hour after the Los Angeles Dodgers’ exciting season had come to a sad conclusion, Frank McCourt worked the clubhouse, shaking hands with all the players and thanking them for their efforts. The Dodgers’ owner then held court with the media, and all the questions revolved around one player.
Are you going to bring back Manny Ramirez?
“It takes two to tango,” McCourt said. “Of course we want him back.”
And so began what could be one of the most fascinating winter dances in Dodgers history, a tango between a player that captured the imagination of L.A. as he carried the team to its best season in 20 years and an owner that has struggled to persuade skeptical fans that a World Series championship is his first priority.
Ramirez offered no encouragement to the fans, many of whom wore T-shirts and jerseys with his name and a dreadlock wig to imitate his signature hairstyle as they chanted “Stay, Manny, Stay!”
Said Ramirez: “I want to see who is the highest bidder.”
That bidding could approach, or exceed, $100 million. If the Dodgers do not win the bidding, or drop out at what might well be a justifiable point, it is not the player with the openly mercenary attitude that would be left in Los Angeles to dodge the criticism.
It would be McCourt, and the Dodgers.
“They’re in a tough spot,” said David Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute. “That could be a prudent decision based on what’s going on in the marketplace, and yet they’ll still get skewered for allowing him to leave.
“I don’t see any middle ground. If they let him go, it will reinforce the perception they’re not committed to winning. If they sign him, it will materially move the needle in their favor, and the fans will rally around him.”
Ramirez arrived as a gift, a superstar who had so worn out his welcome in Boston that the Red Sox paid the $7 million remaining on his contract so the Dodgers would take him off their hands. Ramirez energized his teammates and the fans, triggering an attendance and merchandising surge that generated between $10 million and $15 million in gross revenue for the Dodgers, according to sources in the organization not authorized to discuss club finances.
He drove in one run for every game he played. Ramirez was the first big-time power hitter McCourt has employed in his five years of ownership.
“Based on who he is, what this organization needs and what the fans need, I just sense he’ll be back,” former Dodgers great Steve Garvey said of Ramirez.
“Power brings out the fans. Power changes the game. Power creates excitement. You have to have that power. We haven’t seen that kind of power for a while, which is why we’ve seen an erosion on the baseball side of the organization.”
In the Dodgers’ five-game loss in the National League Championship Series, Ramirez batted .533 and drove in seven runs, despite drawing seven walks.
“Normally, when you have a superstar, he has a great season and then he gets pitched around in the postseason,” said Scott Boras, the agent for Ramirez. “To perform the way he has in the postseason, which he has done with consistency, puts an extraordinary value on him.”
Ramirez, 36, has suggested he might seek a contract of five or six years, and he is not interested in a pay cut from his current annual salary of $20 million.
Boras would not reveal an asking price, but he cited as examples contracts Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez each signed to play through age 42.
Bonds received an average annual salary of $18 million, through 2006, although steroid allegations cloud the accomplishments of the seven-time most valuable player. Rodriguez signed last year for an average annual salary of $27.5 million, but he does not turn 42 until the contract expires in 2017.
Fred Claire, the general manager of the Dodgers’ last World Series championship team, said McCourt should be inoculated against any allegations of lack of commitment since he approved the second-highest player payroll in the National League this season.
Claire said the Dodgers should offer Ramirez $20 million per year for three years.
“You can’t be guided by the asking price,” Claire said. “The view of the fans is extremely important. There will be a lot of noise in the media. But the Dodgers have to make the decision that is in their best interest.”
Boras discounted the notion that the economic crisis could depress the bids for Ramirez, from the Dodgers and other teams.
“Baseball has had record revenues in 2008,” Boras said. “Fans have already paid those record revenues to owners. They expect them to invest in their teams.”
Carter, however, said the economic uncertainty could depress how much owners might be willing to guarantee for, say, 2012. The Dodgers have cited the slumping economy in freezing prices on season tickets, and Carter said every owner likely will consider the prospect that fans and corporations cut back on seats, suites and sponsorships.
“They’ve got to be looking at revenue leveling off,” he said. “They may not have a problem for the next year, but baseball owners have to be concerned about turnstiles and renewing deals.”
And then there is the character issue, the concern that Ramirez might not play as hard or as well without the carrot of a new contract to motivate him. In Boston, team officials said privately that Ramirez refused to play in some games, and gave less than full effort in others, after the Red Sox declined to guarantee $40 million in contract options through 2010.
The commissioner’s office continues to investigate the circumstances of his trade to Los Angeles, which Ramirez and Boras approved only after the Red Sox waived the contract provisions that stood in the way of his chance at new contract this fall.
Ramirez did not wish to discuss that, or anything else, as he cleaned out his Dodger Stadium locker on Thursday. He declined to answer any questions, disappearing into an elevator as reporters trailed him.
“I’ll send you guys a Christmas card,” he said.
Times staff writer Dylan Hernandez contributed to this report.
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