Manny Ramirez slugged his first home run for the Texas Rangers Triple A affiliate Round Rock yesterday, and as he hit the dugout shocked fans with a new look.
A humbled Ramirez debuted a shaved head, a drastic departure from the long dreadlocks he wore while terrorizing pitchers as a member of the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez was required to snip the dreads as part of signing on with Texas, but it likely wasn't stipulated that he needed to take it to this extreme.
Either way, the new shaved look is part of revamping his image; after initially delighting Dodgers fans who turned left field into "Mannywood," he fell out of favor because of petulance and declining play. That followed a departure from Boston in which his surly behavior became too much for them to tolerate, despite his starring role in their first World Series title in 86 years.
Manny moved on to Tampa Bay, where he struggled for a few games before retiring rather than face a suspension for violating MLB's performance enhancing drug policy. This season Manny was crushing the ball in Taiwan before heading back to the United States to make one final run at MLB productivity.
Despite having been picked up by the Oakland Athletics in 2012, Ramirez never reached the majors and was released. His last MLB plate appearance came in 2011 during that 17-game stretch with the Rays. Manny was putrid, hitting .059 with no home runs and one RBI.
Despite that memory, Ramirez will be better known as time passes for his 12 All-Star season, nine seasons of cranking 35 or more home runs, career .312 batting average, and for teaming with David Ortiz to end "The Curse of the Bambino" in Boston.
He will also be known for the phenomenon of "Manny Being Manny" which made for a fun ride.
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