gold star for USAHOF

Manny being Manny..... Ramirez abrubtly retires...HOF or Not?

Is anyone really surprised?  Rather than face what would have been a 100 game suspension for violation of the MLB drug policy, Manny Ramirez retired today from the Tampa Bay Rays.  Statistacally, Ramirez has few equals.  He leaves the game with 555 career Home Runs and a whopping career OPS of .996, and there is nobody that can question his on-field credentials for a bust in Cooperstown.  But we all know that it does not work that way does it?

It has been made very clear what the baseball writers stance is on PED users.  Mark McGwire's HOF support dipped below 20 percent, and Rafael Palmeiro couldn't get half of that.  Both of those athletes were considered HOF locks at one point too, and now they are both as far as Mario Mendoza.  Ramirez is arguably a better player than both of them, but the man who helped propel the Red Sox to their first World Series win in over 80 years seems like a distant memory.  After forcing his way out of Boston, Los Angeles and getting caught twice (the first player to do so) using PEDs, it seems like Ramirez' HOF chances have gone the way of McGwire of Palmeiro.  We always knew he was eccentric, but finishing a career with a 1 for 17 span with winless Tampa Bay was not what anyone expected.  Sadly, there will be many who will say that this how his career deserved to end. 

Last modified on Thursday, 19 March 2015 18:47
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