The Red Sox are still paying Manny Ramirez and his next payment is coming July 1st

For most people, the 4th of July means a holiday weekend of barbecues, pool parties, and fireworks. While we are grilling and cannonballing into the pool, Boston Red Sox legend Manny Ramírez will be cashing a large check from the team for deferred salary. This is a great excuse for fans to celebrate the prolific slugger's production on the field and his quirky nature off of it.

After starting his career with Cleveland, Ramírez was signed by the Red Sox before the 2001 season. He spent eight of his nineteen MLB seasons with the Red Sox. He was a magician in the batter's box finishing his career with a bWAR 69.3 and .996 OPS. He hit 274 of his career 555 career home runs with the Red Sox.

Most importantly, he helped the team reverse the "Curse of the Bambino" and win their first World Series Championship in 86 years. He was rewarded for his contributions by being named the World Series MVP in 2004. He would help the team win another championship in 2007 for good measure. Ramírez played his last game for the Red Sox in 2008 before finishing his MLB career with brief stints with the Dodgers, White Sox, and Rays.

Yes, the Boston Red Sox are still paying Manny Ramirez

Ramírez signed an eight year, $160 million contract with the Red Sox before the 2001 season with $20 million options for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He was traded before the end of the contract. Despite this, the Red Sox still owed Ramírez $32 million dollars which they agreed to pay him over 16 years as deferred salary. So every July 1st from 2010 through 2026, Ramírez receives roughly $2 million from the team. Not bad for a slugger is currently in his 50s and has not played for the team since 2008.

Deferred contracts are not uncommon in baseball. Actually, Ramírez's deferred contract pales in comparison to Bobby Bonilla's deal with the New York Mets. Bonilla played his final game with the Mets in 1999. In 2000, the team agreed to buy out the remaining $5.9 million still owed to him. Instead of giving Bonilla the lump sum, the Mets agreed to make annual payments including interest for 25 years starting in 2011. Every July 1st, he receives nearly $1.2 million which will continue until 2035 when he is 72 years old. Mets fans have affectionately called this Bobby Bonilla Day.

Though Manny’s deferred salary is not of the magnitude to warrant a full holiday like Bobby Bonilla Day, it is a good excuse to reminisce about a slugger that helped change Boston Red Sox history. A Manny Ramírez "Festivus for the Rest of Us" if you will. So gather with your friends this holiday weekend and raise a glass to your favorite "Manny being Manny" moments.

My favorite Manny Ramírez stories are about his brilliance in the batter's box. His batting IQ was so next level that he could toy with pitchers. Joe Posnanski wrote about this for SI.com in 2008. Posnanski reported that Bill James believed that Ramírez would purposely let the count run full if there was a runner on first base so the runner could be in motion and increase his chances of getting an RBI.

In the same article, Posnanski noted that baseball executive Allard Baird believed Manny would purposely swing and miss at a pitch earlier in the season so that he could capitalize when the pitcher would throw him the same pitch again later in the season. This is "A Beautiful Mind" genius level of hitting.

For some fans, the best Manny memories are some of his majestic home runs. Most Red Sox fans have a favorite Ramírez home run which often came in the biggest moments against our biggest rivals. Of his 274 home runs for the Red Sox, 36 were against the New York Yankees placing him 4th all-time amongst Red Sox sluggers.

Some Ramírez moments on the field were more comical. For example, most Red Sox fans will never forget when Manny dove to cut off Johnny Damon's throw from centerfield against the Orioles.

For others, the most memorable Ramírez moments were his non-baseball antics. Like how he frequently forgot to cash paychecks early in his career resulting in tens of thousands of dollars being stashed in the glove compartment of his car.

Or the time he disappeared into the Green Monster mid-inning. Many have postulated what he was doing in there with guesses including using the bathroom, making a phone call, or cooling off in front of a fan. The world may never know.

As America celebrates the 4th of July this weekend, Red Sox fans will always have this patriotic memory of Ramírez celebrating becoming a United States citizen at Fenway Park.

So this holiday weekend, raise a glass to this one-of-a-kind Red Sox slugger. Every Red Sox fan has their own special Ramírez story! Ultimately, the best Manny Ramírez story of all may be how he got the Boston Red Sox to pay him millions of dollars every July 1st until he was in his mid-50s.