Manny Ramirez Signs Deal With Japan’s Kochi Fighting Dogs
Former Major League Baseball slugger Manny Ramirez isn’t done with his playing days just yet.
The 44-year-old former Red Sox outfielder is making his comeback with a low-level Japanese team, the Kochi Fighting Dogs of the Shikoku Island League, according to Fox Sports.
The Shikoku Island Plus league is an independent baseball league in Japan and features four teams.
The Kochi Fighting Dogs originated in 2005 and the team won its inaugural season. The Kochi Fighting Dogs have a fairly rudimentary website, which doesn’t offer much else on the teams background.
Manny Ramirez’s wife, Jualina Ramirez, posted the following photo on her Instagram account, which pictures Ramirez with members of the Fighting Dogs.
Manny Ramirez last played as a player-coach in 2014 as a member of the Chicago Cubs Triple-A team, where he batted .283.
In 19 seasons, Ramirez hit 555 home runs, 1,831 RBIs, and had a .312 average. However, he was disgraced for having two positive tests for performance enhancing drugs.
Ramirez appeared on the 2004 and 2007 World Series champion Red Sox teams and was a 12-time All-Star. This year, Ramirez is on the Hall of Fame Ballot for the first time, but won’t get nearly the required amount of votes with his positive PED tests tainting his accomplishments.
Manny Ramirez holds the record for most post-season home runs with 29 and the most post-season RBIs with 78. One of Ramirez’s most memorable home runs came in Game 2 of the 2007 American League Divisional Series when he hit a walk-off home run over the green monster at Fenway Park.
In addition to the Red Sox, Ramirez had stints playing with the Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago White Sox.
This isn’t Ramirez’s first attempt at making a comeback in baseball. In addition to his stint with the Cubs affiliate, he spent time in the Oakland Athletics system, the Texas Rangers system, as well as time with the EDA Rhinos of the Dominican Republic professional baseball league.
Manny Ramirez is known for being a personality and often will do quirky things people refer to as “Manny being Manny.” The fact that Ramirez thinks he can continue playing ball at the ripe age of 44 is quirky in itself, but who knows maybe he’s still got some juice left in him.
Ramirez is also not the only well-known player to attempt a comeback into America’s greatest pastime. Many players have reinvented themselves, although probably none were as old as Ramirez.
Rick Ankiel reinvented himself as an outfielder with his dominant arm after failing miserably with the Cardinals big league club as a pitcher.
Tommy John damaged his arm before getting the surgery that would later be named after him. John went on to pitch for 15 more seasons in the majors.
Josh Hamilton, who suffered from drug and alcohol addiction, made his comeback with the Texas Rangers and even made it to the 2011 World Series where the Rangers nearly defeated the Cardinals in six games. St. Louis would go on to win in Game 7 after one of the greatest comebacks in MLB post-season history.
Jon Lester was one of a few players to make an MLB comeback following a battle with cancer. Lester overcame his illness and has gone on to become one of MLB’s best pitchers, winning a World Series title with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
Lou Brissie was one of many players to fight in World War II. After having his leg blown off followed by many surgeries, he came back and pitched for seven more seasons with an All-Star appearance along the way.
[Featured Image by Jim Rogash/Getty Images]
