Just waiting for Twins-Sox game to start over here across town at Hammond Stadium. Will have a lengthy post towards the end of the day (including answering questions) but wanted to post story from today’s paper. Link will be public later today, but until then here it is.
Story has two parts: 1. How Marlins minor league catcher guided Manny Ramirez down an unfamiliar path this offseason; 2. Dr. Thomas Gill talking about exactly why decision was made to start Jonathan Papelbon.
Oh, by the way, Nomar Garciaparra is scheduled to make the trip to Fort Myers to play his old team tomorrow. Also wanted to pass on that AL MVP Justin Morneau said he roomed with old friend, and current Baltimore Oriole, Adam Stern this past offseason. Morneau also listed Papelbon has the third-toughest closer he faced last year, only behind B.J. Ryan and Francisco Rodriguez.
Manny’s a changed man, Marlins minor league catcher works Ramirez into offseason frenzy
FORT MYERS, Fla. – It is no news flash that Manny Ramirez remains somewhat of a mystery. But there is one relatively unknown piece of information regarding the slugger which might be hard for some to fathom.
Throughout his professional life, Ramirez had never practiced his hitting in the offseason, that is until this winter.
The owner of a career .314 batting average and 470 home runs would always use his offseason to better his body, primarily with trainer Juan Carlos Santana in Boca Raton, Fla. But not one time did the 34-year-old consistently pick of a bat and fine-tune his bread-and-butter skill – hitting.
This year, however, the hour ride from Ramirez’s home in Westin became too much, leading him to a facility called Perfect Competition in nearby Davie. The idea was to join other professional athletes working out at the facility. But once Ramirez arrived for the first time, he found his offseason took on a whole new life.
“I remember giving him a tour and he was very cordial and outgoing,” said Greg Brown, Perfect Competition’s director of baseball training. “I was telling him that we had this cage here to help supplement his training and I would always be here if he wanted to work out. I asked him, ‘How often do you hit?’ He just said, ‘No, spring training.’ Then I asked him, ‘Well, do you throw?’ Again, ‘No, spring training.’ I was like, ‘OK ….’ It is just unbelievable.
“So he comes in for his first performance-enhancement training, bringing two bats with him. When he came to meet me, he brings these bats and I’m figuring he was donating them to me as a favor. I walk up to him and thank him for the bats. He’s like, ‘No, no, no. Let’s hit.’ This is back in November. For me, it was almost like a dream come true to have hands-on experience with the greatest right-handed hitter of our generation.”
The facility, which was founded by former professional hockey player and Massachusetts native Sean O’Brien, already hosted such major leaguers as Miguel Tejada, Raul Ibanez, Jose Guillen and Mike Lowell, who participated in workouts prior to last season.
But in Ramirez’s case, getting used to the surroundings was just half of the equation. He also had to adjust to actually having a bat in his hands on a consistent basis outside of the regular season.
“He kept asking me, ‘How was that?’ or ‘Where are my hands?’ Questions like that,” said Brown, who is a catcher in the Florida Marlins system. “I was very standoffish. Here I am, a struggling minor league backup catcher and Manny Ramirez is asking me for advice. I kind of let him do his thing, but he kept asking me. In the first 15 minutes, he probably asked me about 10 times, so you keep knocking on the door I’m finally going to say something. So I opened up to him.
“For whatever reason, we just took off together and had a real bond from the start. All the way up to the day he reported, we were hitting five days a week.”
According to the facility’s records, Ramirez worked out 47 times. Brown began his new client with strictly tee work, and then got into a routine that would stretch from a high tee to a regular-sized tee to front soft-toss to live throwing. Not once was a pitching machine used. Brown serving as the eyes, ears and the arm for all things related to Manny and his new training.
To read the rest of “Manny’s a changed man” click here
