posted
Apr 14, 2011 by News Gatherer
Others were angry that baseball is still dealing with the specter of steroid use. He had a strong spring training, then was excused from the last exhibition game for personal reasons.A schoolboy legend on the streets of New York, Ramirez was selected 13th overall by the Cleveland Indians in the 1991 amateur draft and rose quickly through the minor leagues, with a youthful exuberance and natural charisma that endeared him to just about everyone he met.He broke into the majors in 1993 and played his first full season the next year, when he finished second to the Royals’ Bob Hamlin in voting for Rookie of the Year.Ramirez went on to establish himself as one of the game’s most feared hitters, adopting a dreadlock hairdo that seemed to mirror his happy-go-lucky demeanor — both on the field and off.He signed with the Red Sox as a free agent in December 2000. “Ramirez has informed MLB that he is retiring as an active player. NEW YORK — The news that mercurial slugger Manny Ramirez had tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance and abruptly retired swept quickly through baseball, leaving players and mangers with mixed emotions.Some were baffled that Ramirez would get caught again violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy. “I don’t think many guys got as many big hits in their careers as he has. He helped the long-suffering franchise end an 86-year title drought by winning the 2004 World Series. There weren’t many guys who had as big an effect on a game as he had.“You hate to see greatness all of a sudden just fade.”Ramirez decided to retire Friday rather than face a 100-game suspension for a second violation of MLB’s drug policy. The 12-time All-Star served a 50-game ban in 2009 while a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and second-time offenders get double that penalty.A person familiar with the situation confirmed to The Associated Press that Ramirez tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. “He got his issues like a lot of people know, but, as a player, I think he did what he was supposed to.”The Red Sox wearied of those issues, though, and traded him to the Dodgers in July 2008.Ramirez instantly became a fan favorite on the West Coast, with “Mannywood” signs popping up around town, as he led Los Angeles to the NL West title and a sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs. The clutch performances earned Ramirez a $45 million, two-year contract.All that good will fizzled the next May, when Ramirez tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a banned female fertility drug often used to help mask steroid use.According to a report in The New York Times later that summer, Ramirez also tested positive for performance-enhancing substances during MLB’s anonymous survey testing in 2003.On Friday came strike three — unofficially — and Ramirez decided he was out.Ramirez was a .312 career hitter with 13 seasons of 100-plus RBIs and 555 home runs, 14th on the all-time list.His positive test for a banned substance comes as baseball, which has been working hard to put its so-called Steroids Era in the past, has another of its great hitters, Barry Bonds, on trial in San Francisco.Bonds is facing federal charges that he lied to a grand jury in 2003 by denying that he willfully used performance-enhancing drugs. Still others were disappointed that another player had walked away in shame.“Until the past couple of years, I thought he was on his way to the Hall of Fame,” Texas manager Ron Washington said. Then doing it again in 2007.“It’s sad, man, to see a player with that much talent and with an unbelievable career get him out of the game,” Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the nature of Ramirez’s issue with MLB’s drug policy was not publicly disclosed.The commissioner’s office announced Ramirez’s decision but provided few details.“Major League Baseball recently notified Manny Ramirez of an issue under Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” MLB said in a statement. If Ramirez seeks reinstatement in the future, the process under the Drug Program will be completed.”MLB said it would have no further comment.The 38-year-old outfielder-designated hitter left the Rays earlier this week to attend to what the team called a family matter.Manager Joe Maddon said Thursday that he expected Ramirez to be available for Friday night’s game at Chicago, but he never showed up.Ramirez played in only five games for the Rays, with one hit in 17 at-bats, and flied out as a pinch-hitter Wednesday in his final at-bat.
