Red Sox Tried to Suspend Manny Before Trade

By KC Downey in Red Sox, Top Story ⋅ November 16, 2008 at 1:06pm ⋅ Post a comment

The Red Sox sought to suspend Manny Ramirez during his final days in Boston, for refusing to play in two games in late July against the Yankees. According to ESPN.com through numerous sources, the Sox drafted a letter of suspension delivered to him at Fenway Park on July 25, then to Major League Baseball, the MLB Player’s Association, and agent Scott Boras.

That letter said Manny would be suspended the next day (July 26). Two calls were then made to the Red Sox front office, one from an undisclosed player and another from Manny. Both players said that Ramirez would be in the lineup the next day to avoid his suspension.

Apparently, the Dodgers had no idea Manny was nearly suspended before trading him, but that didn’t matter considering he had a Ruthian second half with the team. He hit .396 with 17 HR, 53 RBI and a .489 OBP in just 53 games with L.A. Both of his “aching” knees miraculously healed in the nice southern California climate.

Hopefully, teams will consider his history before signing him to a mega contract, but that’s unlikely. Too many people in baseball look only at the numbers and would swallow thier pride to sign a potential headache…that is except for Barry Bonds.

About KC Downey

KC is the "head coach" of the Sports of Boston, LLC blog network. Follow him on Twitter: @kc_downey

Tags: Manny Ramirez, Red Sox

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One comment for “Red Sox Tried to Suspend Manny Before Trade”

[...] be drama around Manny Ramirez. The newest revelation is that after Manny refused to play two games, the Boston Red Sox had drafted up and submitted an official letter of intent to suspend Ramirez. We already knew of the displeasure that had been in the organization because Manny refused to play [...]

Posted by How the Red Sox Handled Manny Ramirez | Sports of Boston | November 24, 2008, 5:53 pm