Manny being Manny

Drafted by Cleveland as the 13th overall pick of the 1991 draft Manny Ramirez has been said by teammates to be in his “own world” and “affably apathetic.” Born in the Dominican Republic and moving at a young age to the Washington Heights neighborhood of northern Manhattan, Manny is said to be of the top two players ever to come out of the New York City public school system. The other Sandy Koufax.     

            

The Manny stories are likened to those of Ricky Henderson. Stories sometimes funny, sometimes outrageous, sometimes maddening, but mostly just a misunderstanding. One of such stories occurred in 1997. Lore has it that Manny who is said to have two Social Security numbers and five active driver’s licenses managed to present none of said identification to the officer who pulled him over for driving with illegally tinted windows and a stereo blasting loud Latin music. “The cop knew who he was,” as Sheldon Ocker, the Indians beat reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal, tells it. “He said, ‘Manny, I’m going to give you a ticket.’ Manny says, ‘I don’t need any tickets, I can give you tickets,’ and reaches for the glove compartment. Then he leaves the scene by making an illegal U-turn and he gets another ticket.””

          

Today he retires from Major League Baseball as one of the greatest right-handed hitters to play the game. More here.