I Got 99 Reasons But A Manny Aint One

On July 18^th, 2010 at 7:01PM, Carl Beane (the Red Sox P.A. Announcer) will utter the name of a man once loved, hated, and confused by the fans of Boston. He will quickly run through the first three members of the visiting team. He will say “Batting third and playing right field, Andre Ethier.” There will then be a pause, a clearing of the throat, and the crowd will take a deep breath. The next words out of Beane mouth might produce the loudest noise at Fenway since opening day. “Batting fourth and playing left field, Manny Ramirez.”

The question is what will the crowd yell after Ramirez’s name echoes through the sound system?

Will the crowd cheer? Boo? Heckle? Start a traitor chant? Steroids chant? Maybe nothing (unlikely)?

Will they applaud the man that once (with the help of his Dominican counterpart) carried the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox on his and Papi’s backs?

Manny was voted to the All Star game 7 consecutive times as a member of the Sox. He hit a high .312 batting average, belting 274 round trippers, and batted in a ridiculous 868 runs. All this in just 8 seasons. This is career worth of stats.

He’s entertained the fans with this Goliath-like strength. He hit the second longest home run at Fenway Park, 

a 501 foot shot against the Blue Jays, one foot shy of the record. (Ted Williams: 502ft)

He led the American League in multiple stats. Leading the AL in home runs in 2004, intentional walks in 2001/2003 (not the major leagues since Bonds was still shooting… I mean playing, and on base percentage in 2002-2003 and 2006. He also led the league in batting in 2002 with a Joe Mauer-esk batting average.

Now I don’t want to get all hopped up on stats. (even though I wouldn’t mind going on with my spreadsheet of fun here.)

Manny also brought some hardware back to the Bay State. He was the recipient of the Hank Aaron Award in 2004, and 6 time Silver Slugger winner with the Sox. OOOOHHHH Yeah… He also brought Boston more gold with World Series Trophies than Flava Flav has in teeth fronts. His league leading batting average in 2002 was rewarded with the AL Batting Title.

While this is all very, very, berry fresh and fruity (Thank you IHOP), there were a few things that might just make the fans boo the old cleanup hitter.

First, there’s the countless blundering moments of Manny so-called “being Manny.”

From the potty break in the Green Monster, sitting on a baseball after failing to catch it on the dive, and of course, practically walking to first base every time he made contact with the ball.

(On a side note: I don’t think I’ve ever hated a player more for not hustling, even if it is a routine ground ball because baseball is full of obscurities. You really don’t know what’s going to happen. That ball could be bobbled by the first baseman. I don’t see the harm in just running to first base.)

Manny was also and is still also not a team player. He made comments public about his dislike of Boston and how he wanted to be traded. All this came at the beginning of the season too. Man in the sky forbid he wait until the off season. Heck, he’s even doing it again with the Dodgers now.

Manny was also accused of choking a member of the Red Sox organization and throwing them to the ground. 

Oh yea, the guy was in his 60s but its okay, it’s just “Manny Being Manny.”

Oh and let’s not forget about the whole steroids situation. Manny was suspended for 50 games as a member of the Dodgers for abusing the league’s drug policy.

So the question is, what WILL the fans do once Ramirez’s name is announced? Will they cheer for the Manny that we loved for 6 or so years, bring home 2 World Series trophies, or will they boo for the club house cancer and drug user.

So if the fans boo, they boo. And if the fans cheer, they cheer. If they do nothing, then they doing nothing. It's just important to remember that no matter what they do you can't blame them because, Hey, it's the just the fans being fans.