More about Manny Ramírez

• He was named the New York City Public School's High School Player of the Year in 1991, batting .615 with 14 home runs in 22 games for George Washington High School, and was drafted that same year by the Cleveland organization. Manny played his first eight seasons with the Indians, making the All-Star squad four times. In 1999, he led the American League with 165 RBI, the most since Red Sox legend Jimmy Foxx hit 175 in 1938.
• In his first ever Fenway at-bat for Boston, he sent the first pitch he saw into the netting over the Green Monster to help lead the Red Sox to an Opening Day win against Tampa Bay in 2001. Manny collected 40 more home runs that season along with a batting average of .351 and 125 RBI and was the lone All-Star selection for the Red Sox. Among other highlights of his first season was a tape-measure home run that he clobbered at SkyDome in Toronto; it was estimated to have traveled about 500 feet.
• In 2002, he led the AL in batting with a .349 average and on-base percentage with .450, again named to the All-Star team.
• In 2003, he became the fastest player in franchise history to collect 100 home runs in a Red Sox uniform.
• Ramirez drove a pitch over the left-field wall in Oakland to plate the deciding runs in the fifth and decisive game of the 2003 Division Series as Boston completed a comeback from an 0-2 series deficit with a 4-3 win.
• After the Red Sox attempted to release Ramirez through waivers after the 2003 season, he responded in 2004 with 43 home runs, 130 RBI, and a .308 average, helping Boston return to the playoffs for the second straight season. He then tore through the playoffs, hitting safely in all 14 playoff games to extend his post-season hitting streak to 17 straight.
• In the 2004 World Series, Ramirez batted .412 with a home run and four RBI to earn MVP honors, the first Red Sox player to receive that award. The highlight of the series came in Game 3 when he stroked his lone home run of the series to left in the top of the first inning, then threw St. Louis base runner Larry Walker at the plate in the bottom of that frame, the only player ever to hit a home run and throw out a runner at the plate in the same inning of a World Series contest.
• In 2005, Ramirez tied his career-high of 45 home runs and still finished second in the American League to teammate David Ortiz, who clobbered 47. He also surpassed the 400 career home run mark, becoming one of only 40 players all-time to accomplish this feat. His 144 RBI were also a personal best as a member of the Red Sox organization, after driving home 145 and 165 runners with Cleveland in 1998 and 1999, respectively.
• On 01 July 2006 against the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium, Ramirez got the 2,000th hit of his career, a three-run home run off Brian Moehler in the first inning. Ramirez is the 18th active player to hit the mark, joining the club that Garret Anderson of the Los Angeles Angels reached earlier that same day. Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees also got his 2,000th career hit earlier in the season on May 26.
• Ramirez finished 2007 with just 20 home runs and 88 RBI, both his lowest single-season totals in seven years with Boston. He is ten home runs shy of 500 going into the 2008 season.