Manny Ramirez begins his second chance
A bat in his hands and a smile on his face, Manny Ramirez bounded through the Oakland Athletics’ clubhouse Saturday hollering, “I’m back in the lineup! I’m back in the lineup!”
Yes, Manny is back.
He’s trying to make it back to the major leagues a year after retiring from the Tampa Bay Rays rather than serve a 100-game suspension for a second positive drug test.
“I’m just blessed to be here and playing the game that I love,” he said.
It shows in his work ethic and the way he interacts with his new teammates, especially Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes.
The 39-year-old clubhouse cutup was excited to return to the Athletics’ lineup this weekend after spending a few days hitting in the team’s minor league camp with Cespedes, who made his spring training debut Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds.
Ramirez is eager to go back about proving he still has some pop at the plate.
“I’m back, I feel great,” Ramirez said before his first game since getting scratched from the A’s lineup Wednesday with lower back stiffness.
Ramirez is still chipping off the rust after nearly a year away from the game.
The 12-time All-Star signed a minor league deal with the A’s last month that’s worth $500,000 if he’s added to the big league roster – that’s about 100 times less than he made in his two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s allowed to participate in spring training games and exhibition games scheduled in Japan, but must serve a 50-game suspension before he can play in the regular season for Oakland should he make the club.
Ramirez just wants to show he can still play so he can do right by the game that gave him fame and fortune and to honor his wife and kids who stuck by him through difficult times, he said.
“I’m just so happy to be here. I never thought I was going to get another chance,” he said.
“He’s having fun, he’s joking around, I mean, he keeps the clubhouse loose,” catcher Kurt Suzuki said. “The one thing we see all the time is when he’s here, he’s here to work. And he works hard. That’s something us young guys can take out because he’s in the cage just taking hundreds of swings. He takes young hitters under his wing. That’s awesome.”
Around the league
St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter will miss his next scheduled spring training start because of stiffness in his neck. … Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier was scratched from the starting lineup against Seattle because of mild stiffness in his back. … New York Mets third baseman David Wright is expected to miss at least another week because of soreness in his left rib cage. … Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher A.J. Burnett returned to spring training camp, eight days after having surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone.