Manny Ramirez Participating in Revolutionary Offseason Program Designed to Help Him Make Fewer Dumb Plays
Manny Ramirez has quietly spent much of the offseason involved in a program designed by Red Sox officials to help the sometimes flighty slugger to cut down on the number of dumb plays he makes during the course of the season.
“As always, we use statistical analysis to guide our decision process,” said a source close to Theo Epstein. “The data is astounding, in that Manny makes significantly more dumb plays during the course of the season than any other player.” The program, which combines classroom and videotape sessions with work on the playing field, is designed to focus on some of the areas in which Manny has made particularly bone-headed plays.
“For instance, in a game against Baltimore this year, Manny, an outfielder, took a cutoff throw—not intended for him—from another outfielder, and then threw to an infielder, which allowed the runner to score an inside the park homerun on what should have been a routine double: this is the quintessential dumb play,” the source said. “So we had several sessions where we stressed to Manny the basic process that outfielders throw cutoffs to infielders, not to each other. I think Manny gets that now.”
“Lemme tell you, the program is really helping me,” Ramirez said recently. “Like they’re giving all kinds of advice on how to remember how many outs there are. That’s a tough one for me. But the videotape showed me how many rallies I killed during the year because I didn’t know how many outs there were. So, they remind me that in every stadium there are like five scoreboards that show how many outs there are, plus I can always ask a coach. So that’s a big step, very helpful.”
Other areas that the program stresses is for Manny curtail celebration after getting a hit until he actually reaches the base he’s trying to get to. “Oh boy,” Ramirez said with a mischievous laugh, “that got me in some trouble. You know, dancing down the first base line and barely getting a single out of what should be an easy double. Oh boy, that’s a tough one.” The Sox also impressed upon Manny that he should handle easy fly balls with the same concentration as difficult ones, as Manny was often known this year for making some outstanding catches while dropping many easy ones.
“We’ve made tremendous progress with Manny,” said the source. “He really seems to be learning a lot…when he attends.” Evidently Ramirez, for all his enthusiasm, has had several mix-ups on what time the program starts and where it is being held, among other things. “We think Manny is committed to the program, but there have been several relatives whom we were not aware of who have died, several birthday parties for his mother that precluded his attendance…this kind of thing. The program is helping, but, when all is said and done, Manny is Manny.”
