Terry Francona’s new book will talk a lot about his time with the Boston Red Sox and a lot about former outfielder Manny Ramirez.
“Francona: The Red Sox Years,’’ co-authored by Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy will detail his eight year run as the manager of the Boston Red Sox naturally there are plenty of Ramirez stories to be told.
Here are a few from Boston.com.
Francona’s exasperation turns to anger when he recalls the incident when Ramirez shoved 64-year-old traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the ground when the mercurial slugger was denied a late, unreasonable request for 16 tickets in Houston during the 2008 season.
“It took me a few seconds to realize this wasn’t in fun,” Francona said. “There were not a lot of guys around when I got out there, and I saw Jack leaning against a table, kind of dazed. I grabbed Manny and said, ‘What the [expletive] are you doing?’ I was hoping he wasn’t going to hit me.”
Ramirez was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers later that season but there were plenty of events which paint the former outfielder in a similar light.
Two years earlier, during a five-game August sweep at the hands of the Yankees that effectively ended their season, Ramirez pulled himself from the finale in the fourth inning.
“I’ll never forget that,’’ Francona said. “He came off the field, walked down the dugout steps, yelled over, and said, ‘Hamstring!’ and I said, ‘Manny, which one?, and he pointed with both hands to both hamstrings. He was like, ‘You pick. [Expletive], I’m coming out. It was funny later, but it wasn’t funny at the time. I had had it with Manny at that point.”
In the book Francona mentions how he nearly quit because team owner John Henry wanted him to a public apology to Ramirez for criticizing his play. When Francona found out Ramirez had been traded he broke down in tears.
