Goodbye to my Favorite Player

Manny Ramirez was always my favorite player on the Red Sox when he played for them.  I was sad when he left to the Dodgers.  Even though I was, and am, a Red Sox fan, I watched Dodgers games just so I could watch Manny play, unlike when Johnny Damon left the Red Sox for the Yankees, when I just stopped being a fan altogether.  Leaving the Red Sox for the Yankees is just traitorous.  I can't tell you stats or any really cool things about Manny.  What I can tell you is that I loved to watch him play baseball.  That he was a great outfielder, and a fantastic hitter.

I'm not an avid baseball watcher.  I love the game, sure, but I don't follow the MLB or know all the teams.  I just like to watch the game.  Generally I root for who ever is winning.  Except for when the Cubs, Giants, Yankees (given, right?), or Reds are playing.  I don't care for those teams, and will always root against them.  Still, there was something special about watching Manny Ramirez play.  Maybe it's because I grew up watching baseball, and then when I hit Junior High, and the Red Sox were doing great, I saw Manny as a star player on the team.  Here's a guy that can hit the ball.  He may have some "performance drug" issues, but there's no denying the guy has some extreme talent.

As soon as I read that Manny Ramirez had retired, I ran up to campus so I could have a copy of this article in print.  It's big.  The article took up two full pages in the paper.  I was going to scan it in, but it won't fit on my scanner.  That big.  So, it'll probably end up taped on my wall/pasted somewhere I can see all the awesome pictures of Manny and read about him.

The game will never be the same without him.