Even though Manny sometimes is known to avoid talking to the media before and after games, he still has contributed his share of controversial, noteworthy and sometimes downright funny comments.
Often, the “Manny Being Manny” moments came with “Manny Being Manny” quotes. Below is the list of the best from Manny Ramirez.
“You talkin’ bout practice?”
All right, all right, Manny may have borrowed this one from another controversial star athlete, but Manny’s awareness of the situation and applying that to it? Pretty funny.
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“I won’t be here next year, so I just want to enjoy myself. I don’t know [if I’ll play next year.]”
Manny, no stranger to giving upper management a hard time, said this in a February 2010 article about his contract negotiations. In Manny’s defense, at least he was pretty direct. Not surprisingly, he hasn’t signed an extension with the Dodgers yet.
“Hi, I’m Manny Ramirez. I bought this AMAZING grill for about $4,000 and I used it once…But I never have the time to use it because I am always on the road. I would love to sell it and you will get an autographed ball signed be me =] Enjoy it, Manny Ramirez.”
For whatever reason, Manny decided to bless us with the single greatest eBay auction ever when he put his grill on the market. It’s kind of surprising to see a pro athlete, one that makes $20 million per year at that, sell something on eBay, although Manny did make a claim that he was selling it for his neighbor.
“I’m happy to be here. Whatever happened in Boston, that’s the past. I’m just thinking blue right now and just here to have fun and enjoy the game.”
The day Manny was traded in 2008 is still a polarizing day for many Red Sox fans. Regardless, Manny made it clear once he got to Los Angeles that he was ready to turn in his red for blue and hope for a new beginning on the West Coast.
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“Just do your job!”
Not everything Manny said was cute and funny. These four words, along with a shove, may have pushed Manny out the door in Boston. It was one thing for him to disrespect the game on occasion with a lapse in hustle, but disrespecting a member of the organization, one as respected as Jack McCormick, started the countdown for the end of Manny in Boston.
“Hey, everybody is invited to my house tonight for free drinks!”
Manny may have been a headache at times while in Boston, but there is no
denying the fact that he was one of the main reasons the Red Sox
finally broke through and won a World Series in 2004 and again in 2007. The MVP of the
Fall Classic certainly enjoyed the parade honoring the Sox, so much that
he took it upon himself to invite the entire city of Boston to his
house for drinks and merriment following the parade.
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“Recently, I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a
medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me.
Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy.”
When Manny tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in May 2009,
he took the route so many have taken when caught with a positive test.
Manny, like others found with positive test results, blamed it on his
doctor.
“I haven’t been right all year. I guess, you know, when you don’t feel good, and you still get hits, that’s when you know you are a bad man.”
Manny said this after one of his finer moments — a walk-off home run in
the 2007 ALDS off Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez. If hitting clutch
moon shots makes you a bad man, then Manny has proved over the years
that he is one of the baddest.
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“Bueno.”
Like many of Manny’s quotes, this one was short and sweet. This was Manny’s coming-out with the Boston fans and media at the introductory news conference announcing that he had signed with the Boston Red Sox. With Dan Duqette next to him, Manny put on the Red Sox jersey, gave a thumbs up and was all smiles.
“Manny being Manny, man. It’s great.”
Manny being Manny. The phrase itself has taken on a life of its own. At the 2005 trading deadline, there were rumors circulating that Manny could be on his way out of town. In fact, he was out of the lineup to start the July 31 game. But as the deadline passed, Manny remained in Boston and saved the day with a game-winning RBI single. And after the game, he acknowledged that it was just “Manny being Manny.”
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