Manuel Knows Manny Being Manny Well

With the Phillies set for a National League Championship Series against L.A., one of the big story lines this week will surely be Charlie Manuel's relationship with perhaps the best hitter of the last decade and Dodgers trade deadline acquisition, Manny Ramirez. As many know, Manuel helped groom Manny and grew close to the star when he was a youngster with Cleveland. Prior to Manny's trip to Philly with the Red Sox in June, the Inquirer ran a great story on Ramirez.

To hear Manuel talk about Ramirez is to hear someone describe a hitting savant. The ability to simplify is part of Ramirez's genius. And despite what might appear as a lackadaisical attitude, Ramirez is a tireless worker and student of hitting, Manuel said.

"When he was young, I'm talking 19 or 20, it amazed me how he could hit good pitching - hard throwers, guys with good hooks - right away," Manuel said. "That's why I figured he'd always hit for average."

Among the 24 players with at least 500 home runs, Ramirez's .313 career batting average ranks behind just Ted Williams (.344), Babe Ruth (.342) and Jimmie Foxx (.325).

It also tells the tale of the time Manny borrowed Jose Mesa's glove in a game in Detroit because Ramirez had forgotten his own glove. After the game in Detroit, Manny never gave the glove back, never mentioned anything to Mesa, and simply used the glove the rest of the season.

Or the time he gave his car to "the clubhouse boy" to take his car to the car wash and that there was cash in the glove compartment. There was, in fact, cash in the glove compartment. Ten grand.

Just Manny being Manny.

>>Manny Ramirez: carefree guy, serious hitter [Inquirer, June 2008]

Comments

[Loqiel]

The best story in my opinion involving Cholly and Manny happened in Cleveland with Manny taking BP and Cholly standing behind the cage.

Manny: "Charlie, I know what I'm doing here."

Cholly: "If you did, you wouldn't be nearly as good as you are."

[MPR529]

so im in grad school with a current MLB pitcher's wife. He plays in the AL now, middle relief, no one special but feel free to guess away. Anyway this guy played in boston with manny. told me that manny, to improve hand-eye coordination, would have a trainer spin a ring at him with numbers on them. In the air, the trainer would call out a number and manny would grab the number with his fingers/hands. pretty cool.

good thing the dodgers don't have much else besides manny.

[ill]

I definitely would not underestimate them MPR. They have some other weapons like Blake and Furcal with some pretty decent pitching.