Manny Ramirez isn’t ready to hang up the spikes for good. The 48-year-old has signed a one-year deal to be a player-coach with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League, as first reported by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
Ramirez’s agent, Hector Zepeda, says that Ramirez has “still got it.”
Ramirez confirmed the news on Instagram (with a fun Australian-themed photo): “I’m extremely honored and excited to be a part of the @sydneybluesox #family @australianbaseballleague #gracias.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEeubcDhuvj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Ramirez is one of the best right-handed hitters in baseball history, and was a 12-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion (as well as a World Series MVP) during his incredibly productive MLB career. He blasted 555 career home runs (15th all-time) with a .996 career OPS (ninth all-time).
He last played in the majors as a 39-year-old for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011 (only five games), but played for the Chicago Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate (the Iowa Cubs) as a 42-year-old in 2014 (and played in the ensuing Dominican Winter League season). And in 2017, he signed to play with the Kochi Fighting Dogs in a Japanese independent league, but never played.
So, we’ll see how much Ramirez actually plays, but this is a fun move that will surely entertain the Australian baseball world, and maybe he can still crank some dingers.