From September 30, 1951, when Joe Dimaggio played his last game until April 2, 2001, when Albert Pujols made his debut there is a fifty year period. 

Manny Ramirez was the best right-handed hitter of that 50 year period.

Now Ramirez has become the 24th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 homeruns.  But he is also one of the greatest hitters ever.  Check this chart marking the on-base plus slugging percentages among members of the 500 Homerun Club.

Ramirez ranks fifth among the group of 24 in OPS.  Pretty esteemed company.  Foxx is the only right-handed hitter above Ramirez.  Only Manny’s worst full season (2007) of his career keeps him just under 1.000 for his career.  That dreadful 2007 season is the only time Ramirez has registered a slugging percentage under .500. 

Now look at Manny Ramirez’s contemporary right-handed hitting peers. 

* minimum 5,000 plate appearances (excluding Albert Pujols)

Notice that Ramirez has a higher batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage than Alex Rodriguez.  The consistency and longevity of Ramirez has been incredible.  Oddly enough–comical, even–two third place finishes in the American League Most Valuable Player Award voting is the highest place he has been able to muster.  Juan Gonzalez won two MVP Awards over the same time period and probably isn’t even a Hall of Famer at all.  Manny is the first-ballot type. 

Reporters love to talk about Manny’s antics, or his hair, or his disposition, but the guy can absolutely rake.  Once when asked about Manny’s seemingly air-headed ways, Curt Schilling commented that Ramirez is “dumb like a fox”.  His on-base percentage tells that he knows the strike zone as well as revealing his patience, but his near .600 career slugging percentage shows that he hammers the pitch he is looking for.  Probably Barry Bonds is the only other player of Ramirez’s generation more feared with runners on base in a close, late game.  Ramirez has always seemed to have a knack for delivering a devastating, run-scoring hit, and his 165 RBIs in 1999 are the most in a single season since Jimmie Foxx drove in 175 in 1938.  Also, Ramirez is probably the best breaking-ball hitter in recent memory, a hitter known for his ability to drive the ball out of the park to the opposite field.

Manny’s personality has come overshadow his ability in the era of the 24-hour news cycle and pop culture world in which we live.  Don’t forget that beyond the hugs and high-fives (to fans) and celebrations of his homeruns and visits inside the Green Monster, Manny Ramirez is truly one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Boston Red Sox, Hall of Fame, Manny Ramirez, State of the Game. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.