One in a series
Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the third of the series:
3. Manny Ramirez
Manny Ramirez was Box-Toppers’ top American League batter in 1999 and ranks second in Box-Toppers points among all batters since 1995, trailing only Alex Rodriguez.
Manny Ramirez
Here are Manny Ramirez' Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in Most Valuable Player Award voting.| Year | Team | BTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | cle al | * | |
| 1994 | cle al | * | |
| 1995 | cle al | 11.0 | AS, BTP-23, BTP-AL bat-7, MVP-12 |
| 1996 | cle al | 5.7 | |
| 1997 | cle al | 7.7 | |
| 1998 | cle al | 16.2 | AS, BTP-10, BTP-AL bat-3, MVP-6 |
| 1999 | cle al | 19.9 | AS, BTP-3, BTP-AL bat-1, MVP-3 |
| 2000 | cle al | 13.2 | AS, BTP-19, BTP-AL bat-5, MVP-6 |
| 2001 | bos al | 7.0 | AS, BTP-111, BTP-AL bat-22, MVP-9 |
| 2002 | bos al | 12.5 | AS, BTP-25, BTP-AL bat-6, MVP-9 |
| 2003 | bos al | 7.9 | AS, BTP-92, BTP-AL bat-27, MVP-6 |
| 2004 | bos al | 11.2 | AS, BTP-26, BTP-AL bat-5, MVP-3 |
| 2005 | bos al | 14.0 | AS, BTP-15, BTP-AL bat-2, MVP-4 |
| 2006 | bos al | 10.0 | AS, BTP-51, BTP-AL bat-11, MVP-18 |
| 2007 | bos al | 7.5 | AS |
| 2008 | bos al/lad nl | 13.9 | AS, BTP-18, BTP-NL bat-3, MVP-4 |
| 2009 | lad nl | 5.5 | |
| 2010 | lad nl/chi al | 4.0 | |
| 2011 | tb al | 0.0 | |
| Total | 167.2 | BTP-7, BTP-bat-2 |
* Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995. Ramirez played 22 games in 1993 and 91 games in 1994.
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL bat Finish among all AL batters in BTP
BTP-NL bat Finish among all NL batters in BTP
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com
Ramirez, 41, is No. 3 on Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them look at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. (See previous posts about Alex Rodriguez and Roy Halladay.) Reports say Ramirez is interested in making a comeback in 2014, though he hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since 2011.
He retired that year (after playing five games for the Tampa Bay Rays) rather than face a 100-game suspension for his second violation of baseball’s drug policy. He attempted comebacks in both 2012 and 2013, never making it to the big leagues. Most recently, in July 2013, he signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers but was released in August.
Ramirez accumulated 167.2 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 2010. (He also played 22 games in 1993 and 91 games in 1994, before Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995.) He ranks seventh among all players on Box-Toppers’ “all-time” list (since 1995) and second among all batters (Rodriguez, first among batters, has 179.3 points).
Ramirez never won a league Most Valuable Player Award, though he finished in the top 10 in voting nine times, finishing as high as third place twice in AL MVP voting (1999 with the Cleveland Indians and 2004 with the Boston Red Sox).
However, Ramirez led AL batters in Box-Toppers points in 1999 with 19.9, his best season. Ramirez finished third in AL MVP voting that year. Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers was voted MVP—he had 14.2 Box-Toppers points that year, in sixth among AL batters. Ramirez was third in overall Box-Toppers points in 1999, behind only pitcher Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks (31.5 points) and pitcher Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox (31.4 points).
Ramirez was among the top 10 batters in his league in Box-Toppers points eight different times—seven times in the AL and once, in 2008 in the National League when he finished his season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He was among the top 10 overall players in Box-Toppers points twice—in 1999, as previously mentioned, and in 1998, when he finished in 10th place overall with 16.2 points. He had nine seasons with more than 10.0 Box-Toppers points.
Ramirez was suspended 50 games in 2009 for violating baseball’s performance enhancing drug policy. He was suspended a second time under the policy in 2011 and faced a 100-game suspension. He chose to retire instead. When he attempted a comeback in 2012, he was able to reach an agreement to reduce that suspension to 50 games.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.