Manny Being Unmanly: Ramirez Once Beloved, Now Arrested and Detested
Manny Manhandles Mrs. Manny J. Meric/Getty Images
Slugger Manny Ramirez, erstwhile Boston Red Sox player and showboat, has left baseball for the hoosegow. For the time being he will be wearing pinstripes, not for the Yankees, but for a Florida jailhouse.
The man with the dreadlocks has now entered the dreaded lockdown.
There is no joy in Mudville now that the mighty Manny has struck out at his own wife.
The man who once held a press conference with a translator because he refused to speak English with the press will now need a lawyer to translate jail time into freedom.
Arrested and cuffed, led away by police, Manny Ramirez protested his innocence.
His wife claims he slugged her with an open hand, knocking her head against the backboard of their marital bed. She suffered contusion on the back of her head and on her face.
As a precaution, Mrs. Ramirez called the police before Manny started beating Mrs. Manny.
Ramirez who used to be pretty good with a bat has now decided to take out his frustrations on anyone within his strike zone.
Police have charged him with one count of battery.
A man who once had fans from the Fenway Faithful to the Mannywood bleachers, Ramirez has gone from being Manny to not being manly. Slugging his wife hardly qualifies as a hot hitter.
Though we hesitate to ask if Manny has stopped beating his wife, the fact remains that he was a fearsome hitter in his prime. Now his prime target is a defenseless woman. How the "Mighty Casey" has fallen in 21st century terms.
Manny defenders remain a formidable crew. Neither fake injury, nor drug-induced hitting streaks, or wife bashing dampens their man-crush.
If Manny were a Hollywood movie, it would likely be Scarface, or in his case, Dreadlock.
Manny once was a proverbial all-star of MLB before he turned into an overeager user of banned substances (twice). He retired from baseball this season after five games before facing the music for other assorted lapses in good judgment.
Police did not offer him another chance to escape justice. He was handcuffed for domestic violence, called battery.
Twelve-time all-star Ramirez lost two-time drug testing, as well as honors and devoted fans of slugging for his eccentric nature, usually excused under the phrase “Manny Being Manny.”
We wonder how that will play in a court of law. The mighty Manny has struck out.
Author William Russo has written extensively about Manny Ramirez over the years. You can find some of his essays in the book SEX, DRUGS, SPORTS & WHIMSY. Dr. Russo's works are available in e-book format and in traditional book form.
