Manny Ramirez had one of the sweetest right-handed swings of his generation, and his offensive production was consistently elite for pretty much the duration of his career. It’s a bummer that what he did in the batter’s box is now diminished because of his connection to performance-enhancing drugs.
While that’ll forever be part of the conversation regarding his legacy, today’s topic focuses on ManRam’s 500th career home run, which happened on May 31, 2008.
The moment took place at Camden Yards in Baltimore against Orioles reliever Chad Bradford. Ramirez wasted no time getting to the milestone, either — he took the first pitch he saw from Bradford in the seventh inning over the wall in right-center field, becoming the 24th player to join the 500-homer club.
Related: The 500 Home Run Club Includes 28 Players…Here’s The Full List
The Moment Manny Ramirez Joined the 500-HR Club
Ramirez’s meaningful solo shot extended Boston’s lead over the Orioles to 5-3. They’d eventually beat Baltimore by a score of 6-3.
This tater wasn’t just about Manny joining the 500-homer club. It was also about the way in which he did it. He became just the third player to reach the milestone while wearing a Red Sox uniform, joining Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams. David Ortiz would later join this crew in 2015.
You can see in the above video that Manny walked out of the batter’s box for a few steps to admire his work. He clearly knew it was gone the moment it left his bat, and he made sure to enjoy the moment all the way around the bases and into the dugout.
As he should’ve! It’s not every day you get to hit a home run this meaningful, especially in the middle of the regular season with not much in particular riding on the outcome of the game. This was part of yet another typical All-Star season from Ramirez despite being in his age-36 campaign.
But as it turns out, this was just the beginning of a rather turbulent season for him.
The Rest of Manny Season Was…Interesting
If you strictly look at the numbers, Ramirez did exactly what many had come to expect from him each season.
He was elected to his 12th All-Star Game and finished fourth in MVP Award voting off the strength of a .332/.430/.601 line with 37 homers, 36 doubles, 121 RBI, and 102 runs scored. It was his 12th season of 30-plus homers and 100-plus RBI.
But there’s a catch. That fourth-place finish in MVP Award voting came in the National League.
Manny suited up for 100 games with the Red Sox before getting sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline, posting a .926 OPS with 20 homers and 68 RBI in 425 plate appearances. Fresh off a 2007 World Series title and looking to repeat, why would the Red Sox trade one of their most productive hitters?
As it turns out, Ramirez was incredibly unhappy because of his contract situation and essentially forced the issue.
“Manny was really disgruntled about his contract,” former Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer said in an ESPN interview. “He had two club options with no buyouts. He was forcing his way out. We felt like we had to do the deal.”
Upon landing in Hollywood, Manny only suited up for 53 games with the Dodgers. But as his fourth-place finish in NL MVP Award voting suggests, his impact was significant. He hit .396/.489/.743 with 17 homers, 14 doubles, 53 RBI, and 36 runs scored in just 229 plate appearances. His season-long performance was worth 6.0 bWAR in 2008, and despite playing half as many games, his bWAR for the Dodgers (3.5) was higher than what he produced in Boston (2.5).
Manny also did what he could to get Los Angeles to the World Series, slashing .520/.667/1.080 with four homers and 10 RBI in eight postseason games before the Philadelphia Phillies bounced them from the NLCS.
Ramirez’s 500th homer was, in retrospect, a quiet milestone in the middle of a turbulent year. But the number itself represents something larger — a career’s worth of damage done against some of the best pitching of his era.
Another Look at Ramirez’s Career Numbers
Once again, if we only take the on-field production into account, it’s impossible not to be impressed by what Ramirez did during his 19-year MLB career.
He finished with a .312/.411/.585 lifetime triple slash to go along with 555 homers, 547 doubles, 1,831 RBI, 1,544 runs scored, and 2,574 total hits. Other accolades include being a 12-time All-Star and a nine-time Silver Slugger, as well as winning one batting title, two World Series titles, and the 2004 World Series MVP Award.
Ramirez finished in the top 10 of MVP Award voting nine times during his career, including every season between 1998 and 2005. Anyone with this kind of resume should be a Hall of Famer, joining the likes of Foxx, Williams, and Ortiz as legendary Red Sox players in Cooperstown.
But any chances of that happening were likely derailed after he was suspended for PEDs in both 2009 and 2011. Ramirez spent 10 years on the Hall of Fame ballot and never received more than 38.8% of votes, which came in his last year of eligibility.
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