Manny Ramirez, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, retreated into retirement Friday, opting not to serve a 100-game suspension after he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug for the third time in his career.
The positive test came just two years after he was suspended for 50 games for using a similarly banned substance. That suspension resulted from a positive test in spring training, as did the one that has now led to his retirement.
As a result of the 2009 suspension, Ramirez was subjected to additional testing and a more severe penalty for another drug infraction. But despite the increased risks, Ramirez, who is now 39 and signed a one-year deal in the off-season with the Tampa Bay Rays, was found to have used a performance-enhancer once again.
Ramirez’s retirement came on the same day that another famous hitter, Barry Bonds, awaited a verdict in his perjury trial, with a federal jury in San Francisco yet to come to a conclusion as to whether he lied in 2003 when he testified that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.
Bonds and Ramirez were contemporaries, both left fielders destined for the Hall of Fame until they became linked to drugs. While Major League Baseball has made recent strides in cracking down on the use of steroids, the fact that Ramirez and Bonds were both making unwelcome headlines Friday underscored that the issue of drugs in baseball has hardly faded away.
Under baseball’s drug-testing program, Ramirez will have to serve the 100-game suspension if he changes his mind and decides he wants to play again. But Ramirez’s legendary offensive production has declined markedly since the 2009 positive test was disclosed — he was just 1 for 17 at the plate this season and hit just 9 home runs in 2010 — and it would seem unlikely that any team would be interested in luring him back into a uniform.
Ramirez, who was born in the Dominican Republic and attended high school in Manhattan, was selected in the first round of the 1991 draft by the Cleveland Indians. He made his major league debut at 21, quickly establishing himself as a power hitter who could also hit for average.
But he also created an image as a quirky player who could be almost oblivious to what was going on around him — in the clubhouse, for sure, but sometimes it seemed in the field and on the basepaths.
After the 2000 season, he signed an eight-year, $160 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. It was then, in 2003, that he hooked up with the newly signed free agent David Ortiz to form the most fearsome middle of the lineup in baseball.
The Ramirez-Ortiz combination helped propel the Red Sox to a World Series championship in 2004, ending an 86-year drought. Three years later, the two sluggers helped Boston capture another title.
But in 2009, Ramirez began acting out after the Red Sox showed no interest in signing him to a long-term extension. Amid widespread criticism of his behavior, he forced Boston to trade him to the Dodgers in July, where he proceeded to hit .396 for the remainder of the season and led the team to the National League Championship Series.
After that season, the Dodgers rewarded him with a multiyear contract. But the next spring training, a urine sample he produced had elevated levels of testosterone, which ultimately led to the 50-game suspension.
Two months later, The New York Times reported that he and Ortiz were among the roughly 100 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during the anonymous testing that baseball conducted in 2003.
At the time, Ramirez declined to discuss the issue with reporters and Ortiz said he had never used steroids.
On Friday, Ramirez was not around the Rays’ locker room to address the news media. But in Boston, Ortiz was forced to address the positive test of his former teammate.
“If you play with Manny Ramirez, I guarantee you’re going to look at a hard-working guy, a guy that tried to get better every day,” Ortiz said. “He got his issues like a lot of people know, but as a player, he did what he was supposed to do.”
The Rays and the Red Sox played each other in spring training, and in those games, Ortiz said, Ramirez “was in the best shape I’ve ever seen.”
“When you watched him hit, you were like, wow, he’s back,” Ortiz added.
But that Ramirez is now gone, along with his 555 home runs, his two rings, his numerous Silver Slugger awards, his 2002 batting championship, his 2004 World Series Most Valuable Player award and his very damaged reputation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/sports/baseball/09ramirez.html
Manny Ramirez announces retirement
Manny Ramirez has announced his retirement, according to a statement released by Major League Baseball.
Ramirez, who was suspended for 50 games in 2009 for violating MLB's drug policy, was recently notified that there was a new issue relating to the policy.
"Rather than continue with the process under the program, Ramirez has informed MLB that he is retiring as an active player," the statement says. "If Ramirez seeks reinstatement in the future, the process under the Drug Program will be completed. MLB will not have any further comment on this matter."
Ramirez was 1-for-17 with the Tampa Bay Rays this season, his first after signing as a free agent. He finishes his 19-year career with 555 home runs, 1,831 RBI and a .312 average.
Ramirez was a Reds Killer. During his career against the Reds, Ramirez hit .404 (38-for-94) with 12 homers, 35 RBIs and 27 runs scored. He had an impressive 1.359 OPS.
http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20110408/SPT0401/304080112/0/SPT04/Manny-Ramirez-announces-retirement?odyssey=nav|head
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