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| Position | Left Field |
| Team | Boston Red Sox |
| Years of Experience | 12 years |
| Age | 33 |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Bats | Right |
| Throws | Right |
| College | N/A |
| 2005 Salary | $19,806,820 |
| Place of Birth | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Selection | 1st round amateur draft, 1991. |
| Drafted by | Cleveland Indians |
| Major League Debut | September 2, 1993 |
Manuel Arístides (Manny) Ramírez Onelcida [ra-MEE-res] (born May 30, 1972) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who has played for the Boston Red Sox since 2001. Previously, Ramírez played with the Cleveland Indians (1993-2000). He bats and throws right-handed. Though originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, he grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City a short distance away from Yankee Stadium. In 2004, Ramírez became an American Citizen.
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Through the 2005 season, Ramírez is a career .314 hitter, with a .409 on base percentage and a .599 slugging percentage. He has totaled 435 home runs and 1414 RBI in 1687 games. Even though the 2005 season started off slowly for his standards, he had a strong second half of the year and ended with a .292 avg., 45 home runs, 144 RBIs and 112 runs.
Ramírez is universally considered one of the best all-around righthanded hitters in the American League. He combines power, contact and patience at the plate, against left-handed pitchers and righties equally well, but he still doesn't pull the ball very often for a power hitter. He does most of his damage from center field to the right field line. He has good power that way and seems content to go with the pitch, but he is not afraid to take the occasional free walk.
Ramírez is a middling leftfielder. He still has trouble at times with footwork, his range is limited, but his arm is fairly strong and he has soft hands. Ramírez is aggressive playing balls off the Green Monster and holding runners to singles. Ramirez has been known to be involved in several comical misadventures while playing the outfield. While playing for Cleveland in the sixth inning of Game 6 of the 1998 American League Championship Series, he turned his back on a line drive off the bat of the New York Yankees Derek Jeter and attempted a leaping catch at the top of the right field wall, only to have the ball hit him in the back of the feet. During the 2004 season, he was nominated for play of the year because of a spectacular catch he made in left field at Yankee Stadium to rob Miguel Cairo of a home-run. However, in the Game 1 of that year's World Series, Ramirez made two errors in the same inning. In 2005 Ramirez worked on and improved his defense dramatically to have several spectacular plays (while having his share of a few misadventures) and ended the year with a Major League leading 17 outfield assists. It should be noted however that Fenway Park has the smallest left field in the majors, allowing him to play very shallow.
From 1993 to 2000 Ramírez collected 236 home runs and 804 RBI in 967 games for the Cleveland Indians, including a career-high 45 home runs in 1998, and a team-record career-high 165 RBI in 1999, when he hit .333 with 44 homers and scored 131 runs (also a career-high). He made the American League All-Star team four times, and hit 127 homers and 432 RBI in 415 games over last three seasons. His 165 RBI total in 1999 was the highest by any player since Jimmie Foxx in 1938; and made him the first player to have more RBI than games played in a season since Ted Williams in 1949.
In the summer of 2003, Ramirez found himself as the latest victim of the Boston Sports Media's thirst for blood when he missed several games with pharyngitis. Some Red Sox fans criticized the outfielder, saying he should have played despite the ailment. When it was learned that he had been seen in a hotel bar (Ramirez lives in the hotel in question) with a close friend, Yankees infielder Enrique Wilson, the controversy grew, causing Boston manager Grady Little to bench Ramírez for one game. Despite his strong play in the 2003 post-season, Ramírez's Red Sox lost in heartbreaking fashion to Wilson's Yankees in a 7 game showdown in the ALCS. After the season, the Red Sox put him on irrevocable waivers, meaning he was had but for the asking. All 29 other teams passed, due to the length and costs of his contract.
In 2004, nevertheless, Ramírez silenced his critics. He displayed a good attitude and an enthusiasm for playing, two qualities his critics had charged that he lacked. Coupled with impressive play on the field, this absolved Ramírez in the eyes of many Boston fans and sportswriters. He led the American League in home runs (43), slugging average (.613) and OPS (1.009); finished 3rd in RBI (130), 6th in on base percentage (.397), 8th in base on balls (82), 10th in runs (108), and posted a .308 batting average.
In addition, Ramírez and David Ortiz became the first pair of American League teammates to hit 40 home runs, have 100 RBI, and bat .300 since the Yankees Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in 1931, and the first Red Sox duo with 40 homers since Tony Armas and Jim Rice (1984). Also along with Ortiz, Ramírez hit back-to-back home runs six times, tying the major league single season set by Hank Greenberg and Rudy York (Detroit Tigers) and Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordóñez (Chicago White Sox).
In the All-Star Game, facing Roger Clemens in the top of the first inning, Ramirez knocked out a two-run home run giving his teammates an immediate 3-0 lead. Along with Derek Jeter (a single), Ichiro Suzuki (a double) and Iván Rodríguez (a triple), Ramírez made history as the American League became the first All-Star team to hit for the cycle during the same inning. His season was capped off by being named the MVP of the World Series as he led the Red Sox to their first title since 1918.