Hall of Fame Polls: Manny Ramirez

So Manny Ramirez was a pretty good hitter....a bit of an understatement. 19 seasons, a .312/.411/.585 line with 555 home runs, 1831 RBI. bWAR of 69.2.

This is his second time on the ballot. He was on 23.8% of the ballots last year. I’m expecting a big jump this year, as many Writers have their backs up after Joe Morgan’s letter. Likely not enough of a jump to get him in, this time, but enough that he can hope to make it one day.

He made 12 All-Star teams, picked up MVP votes 11 times (finished 3rd twice, and in the top 10 9 times), 9 Silver Slugger awards, won the Hank Aaron award twice and was World Series MVP in 2004. And he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1994, after playing in just 91 games.

And, I know it shouldn’t impress me, but he drove in 165, back in 1999, with Cleveland.

He played 8 seasons with Cleveland, 8 with the Red Sox, 3 with the Dodgers and 1 each with the Rays and White Sox.

Manny played left field (1037 games), right (904) and DH (332). He was pretty terrible defensively.

He also played 111 playoff games, hitting .285/.394/.554 with 29 home runs. He has two World Series rings.

On the negative side, he was suspended for PEDs twice. Players lose votes for rumors of PED use, but with Manny they have proof. For me, it is often a question of if I think the player would have been a Hall of Fame type without the help. Manny is kind of a tough call, but his numbers are pretty terrific. I’m not sure how much to discount them because of the PEDs.

Ramirez stats are here.

Matt’s chart:

Similar Players: Frank Thomas (elected BBWAA), Carlton Fisk (BBWAA), Rod Carew (BBWAA), Luke Appling (BBWAA), Williw McCovey (BBWAA), Ryne Sandberg (BBWAA), Harmon Killebrew (BBWAA), Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Graig Nettles.