On paper, Manny Ramirez is a clear Hall of Famer. The eight-year Boston Red Sox collected 12 All-Star appearances, nine Silver Slugger Awards, MVP votes in 11 seasons, including nine top 10 finishes, two World Series championships and a World Series MVP Award in his illustrious 19-year career.
Yet, Ramirez received just 34.3% of the vote in his ninth year on the ballot. Players need 75% of the vote to be enshrined at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and unless he gains a substantial number of votes in his final cycle on the ticket, Ramirez will miss the Hall.
Ramirez is just one of the many worthy players who will be denied a spot in the Hall alongside baseball's all-timers. Another legend who won't secure a spot is longtime Yankee, Alex Rodriguez, who collected 37.1% of the vote this year. The two former rivals will be left out for the same reason: performance-enhancing drug (PED) use.
Ramirez was tested and caught with PEDs in his system in 2009 with the Dodgers and 2011, the final year of his MLB career, with the Rays. He opted to retire rather than face his second PED suspension, which would've caused him to miss 150 games in his career due to disciplinary action. Instead, his years in MLB ended with the sting of defeat.
Will Red Sox legend Manny Ramirez ever make it into the Hall of Fame?
The outfielder and designated hitter tested positive for PEDs in the final two years of his career after he secured his many accolades. But the positive results tainted the perception of the rest of his accomplishments.
Over his nine years on the Hall of Fame ballot, Ramirez's vote count has fluctuated between 22 and 34%. As long as 70 to 80% of the Hall of Fame electorate doesn't support inducting players suspended for PED use, Ramirez will never make it to Cooperstown.
He won't be the only one. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens, among many others, were not voted into the Hall due to drug use, and Ramirez and Rodriguez show the aforementioned legends won't be the last to miss out on the achievement.
Unless there is a dramatic shift in priorities among the Hall of Fame electorate in the coming years, Ramirez will not see a plaque of himself (ideally in a Red Sox hat) in Cooperstown.