Boston Red Sox top 25-man roster in franchise history
By Sean Penney
Bench – Outfielder
Manny Ramirez
(1993-2011)
Career Stats: .312/.411/.585, 555 HR, 1831 RBI, 38 SB, 66.3 WAR
With Red Sox: .312/.411/.588, 274 HR, 868 RBI, 7 SB, 29.6 WAR
If you’re wondering what a team with left fielders like Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski needs with yet another left fielder in the wings, I don’t blame you. In fact I agree, with one caveat – Manny Ramirez.
Ramirez, as you can tell by looking at his stats, came to Boston and mashed his way into the hearts of the Fenway faithful. Indeed, he’s the perfect Fenway slugger. A hulking, right-hander who swings his bat with speed and crushing power leading to effortless homers sent careering over the Monster.
Ramirez is an impact bat, perhaps like none other – one of those players you kind of expect to hit the grand slam when he’s up with the bases loaded. It’s what he does. His sheer power potential during his stint in Boston was nigh historic, immortalised by his hitting a 501 foot dinger, second only to Ted Williams in the history of Fenway. Whew.
His heroics in the 2004 World Series earned him MVP, and his constant, seemingly unending supply of pop gave pitchers no rest when sandwiched between hitters like David Ortiz and Mike Lowell. Ramirez could be a genuine game changer coming from the bench. Sure that would negate his defenses, but who cares? What Manny does best is hit the ball really hard and for that, hes top dog.
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