Manny Being Manny No More

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Manny Being Manny No More

Manny Ramirez retired today.

Let me start off by saying I love Barstool. I read it everyday. But I think Prez is dead wrong on this one. He wrote about how he hopes Manny doesn't go into the Hall as a Red Sox because he was basically a hired gun and never cared.

Listen, I was there when Manny tanked it, demanded a trade every trade deadline, and didn't even step out of the box in Toronto when he check swung a ball back to the pitcher. All of those things were deplorable.

But if you want to talk Manny, I think you have to talk about the whole package or else it's not right. And the entire Manny package was one of the most entertaining and incredible players in the history of sports.

Personally, I will miss the hell out of Manny because he was one of the few players who stayed true to himself and never crippled under the pressure of proper public perception.

His fun-loving attitude was infectious. Manny never cared about the same old crap - "never get too high or too low" or "it's a long season, just stay even-keeled." Nah. Manny said what he truly thought all the time, which is very refreshing in the age of annoying cliches. Case and point: "I'm here to play and win. I'm a gangster." Phenomenal.

Whether you love him or hate him, he always kept it interesting. Sure he played when he wanted to, but when he played, he killed. And when he killed, he thrilled. I just put that in there because it rhymed.

But my point is, of course there were bad times with Manny, but there were a lot of good times that no other professional athlete was capable of. Seriously, who else would or could bring out a prepared poster to show the thousands of people at Fenway? Or just randomly talk on a cell phone in the Green Monster during a game? Or make a sick catch and high five a fan?

Manny was legitimately hilarious with his antics so much so that you would just shake your head and wonder if he was certifiably insane. Manny made games fun. His unique perspective was so identifiable.

But honestly it doesn't matter if you loved him or hated him. It really doesn't. Because he was arguably the best right handed hitter of all time and was always entertaining. That is irrefutable.

So Manny, thanks for giving us 8 crazy years. I, for one, am going to miss you.