With the large caveat that there is a very good chance Enrique Rojas’ interview with Manny Ramirez was conducted in Spanish and that the translation of it here inadvertently imposes a subtext to his comment that was not at all his intention, I can’t wipe the grin off my face at this comment, offered in response to the question of whether Ramirez would consider playing in Japan if he can’t get a major league deal:
A working class hero is something to be. If you wanna be a hero well just follow Manny. Just forget that he made more than $200 million playing baseball in his career.
My little college hangover commie/class fixation notwithstanding, it’s a good interview in which Manny talks about why he retired rather than serve his suspension last season. I think he’s crazy if he thinks he’s going to have any major league teams calling him, but being realistic has never been his strong suit. And it hasn’t really hurt him much to be honest.
