Manny Ramirez Inducted into Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame with Heartwarming Speech
Baseball legend Manny Ramirez was inducted on Saturday night into the Cleveland Guardians' Hall of Fame, and he made a short but sweet speech to the team's fans at Progressive Field.
He thanked the fans for embracing him at the start of his career and thanked Guardians manager Terry Francona, who was his manager in Boston.
Ramirez spent 19 years in the major leagues with the Guardians, Red Sox, Dodgers, White Sox and Rays. One of the best hitters of all-time, he was a 12-time All-Star, a nine-time Silver Slugger, a two-time World Series winner, a batting champion and a World Series MVP.
A member of the 500-home run club, Ramirez hit 555 career home runs while owning a .312 batting average. He also posted a lifetime OBP of .411 and registered more than 2,500 hits.
As a member of the Guardians, he hit .313 with 236 home runs over an eight-year span.
He had a league-high 165 RBI in 1999, making four All-Star teams in Cleveland and helping the franchise get to the World Series in both the 1995 and 1997 seasons. They lost to the Braves and Marlins in those series', respectively.
After Cleveland, Ramirez went onto Boston, where he also spent eight seasons with the Red Sox. He paired with David Ortiz to make one of the most dominant batting order tandems in the league and helped Boston win titles in 2004 and 2007.
The 51-year-old last played in 2011 and made his major league debut in 1993.
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