Former Cleveland Indian great Manny Ramirez signs with Australian league

Former Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox great Manny Ramirez signs with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League.

He’s just Manny being Manny. A phrase that somehow still applies to the 48-year-old Manny Ramirez. After eight seasons with the Cleveland Indians and seven and a half seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Ramirez had hammered out a legacy-defining career. Unfortunately for the infamous slugger, steroid violations, lazy play, and a general aloof attitude tanked his career that was once a lock for Cooperstown.

Failed stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago White Sox, and the Tampa Bay Rays would see Rameriz leave the Major’s in 2011, with many believing he was done with baseball.

Now after many seasons representing both red and white sox, Rameriz will now be wearing blue sox. Rameriz signed a deal with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League and will make his return to pro baseball since his run with the Dominican Winter League in 2014-15.

Rameriz has been attempting to come back all year, last trying with the Chinese Professional Baseball League in May, though no offer materialized.

While his turn with the Majors ended dismally, Rameriz had a solid three seasons in the Dominican Winter League. Rameriz hit .301, with 35 doubles, 24 HRs, and 125 RBI’s across 186 games total games. If that were across a162 game series, he’d still finish with over 20 doubles, nearly 20 HR’s and well over 100 RBI’s, all at the age of 40 (to 42).  Not bad.

While a return to the Majors is unlikely, after all, if Ricky Henderson couldn’t come back in at the end of the 2000s, Rameriz has a slight chance. It’s not like the Major’s haven’t had a few nearly-50-year-olds lately. Jamie Moyer and Julio Franco both played into their age-49 seasons. If Rameriz plays well in Australia and maybe lands on in a better league like in South Korea or Japan, and continues to hit well, then maybe Rameriz could have a career-altering swansong.