We almost made it a full week in March without hearing about Manny Ramirez, almost.
Ramirez, 41, recently told ESPN that he was not retired. Over 19 big league seasons Ramirez swatted 555 home runs and he is not about to say it is over.
Over the past two season Ramirez has landed minor league deals from the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers but no call to the major leagues has followed. Instead Ramirez has ended up asking for his release.
“My qualities are still there, and I just need an opportunity to continue showing that the ‘Super Manny’ can help a team,” Ramirez said Thursday on ESPN Radio 104.5 FM in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
“For now, I have no team interested, but I’m still working. Maybe I don’t have anything this week, but who knows? Maybe next week I could get a call,” Ramirez said.
Last season Ramirez played in Taiwan where he hit .352 with eight homers and 43 RBIs in 49 games with the EDA Rhinos. He then joined the Texas Rangers on a minor league deal but was granted his release in August after 30 games at Triple-A.
Ramirez does not believe that there is any attempt to keep him from playing at the major league level.
“I can’t say that there’s anything against me because the Lord is the only one who reads the hearts of the people,” Ramirez said. “But one thing I can say: For an MLB team, it would be a blessing to have players like me and Miguel Tejada, only by our experience. But you never know what they are thinking.”
Ramirez will have to prove himself at the minor league level if he is ever to get another crack in the majors.
