Manny Ramirez's Attitude Finally Catching Up to Him

Nobody likes a quitter. It's one thing to lose fair and square. It's another to simply walk out, which is exactly what Manny Ramirez did to the Red Sox last year. If you recall, he decided to sit out against Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain because he wasn't in the mood. He claimed that his knees were bothering him, but MRIs showed no damage.

So the Red Sox shipped him to Los Angeles, where Manny had a fantastic run leading the Dodgers to the National League Championship Series. But now as a free agent, the contract offers are few and far between.

Teams are leery of signing a guy they know could quit on them any time. Sure, when he plays he puts up some amazing numbers, but who wants to deal with a temperamental idiot?

So now he waits. There were rumors that he was considering retirement if he didn't get offered what he thinks he deserves.

To many, Manny is getting his just deserts. Some see Manny as more of a villain than Barry Bonds because granted, Bonds cheated by taking illegal performance enhancing drugs, but it was to put up better numbers and win games. So a lot of folks hate the fact that he cheated, but others could live with the notion of trying to compete better. But no one can defend a guy who doesn't hustle and plays a kid's game as if he doesn't care.

It's hard to say whether this will impact Ramirez's chances of making the Hall of Fame. On one hand, you cannot deny that he is one of the greatest sluggers in Major League history. On the other hand, however, ticking off the media (and fans, for that matter) is very often held against you when your fate is in their hands. I could see some writers leaving him off the ballot the first time or two just to needle him, but I would imagine that eventually he gets in, although the same cannot be said for notorious cheaters such as Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Roger Clemens.

But not getting a contract and being forced to retire will make a lot of fans happy.

Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/sports/baseball/26sox.html?_r=1; http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/other_mlb/view.bg?articleid=1138572