Manny Being Manny: The Final Act

When I heard Manny Ramirez was retiring this weekend, I didn't quite believe my ears. It's midseason, after all. For all I knew, this was just another of his infamous stunts to garner attention.

Then I heard he was retiring to avoid a 100-game suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs yet again. And the picture became crystal clear.

Because why should we expect anything else from Ramirez? What reason has he given us to believe he wouldn't call it quits after getting caught pulling a fast one on Major League Baseball for a second time? The answers are, we shouldn't, and, none. This is purely another decision that results from Manny Being Manny.

The overwhelming sentiment that I'm gathering from reactions to Ramirez's retirement is disappointment, and I think this is spot-on. Ramirez was an incredible baseball talent, who, towards the end of his career at least, let his personality trump his game. Pretty soon, it wasn't about baseball for Ramirez anymore - it was about his image. He was furious in Boston because they weren't feeding that image. They weren't appreciating him the way he felt they should. So he took bathroom breaks in left field. He stopped running to first base. He demanded a trade and took out his frustrations on a team secretary, all in an attempt to overcompensate for the lack of attention. Then he came to L.A., Hollywood, where the spotlight was. The spotlight he had been craving in Boston. And did he ever get it. Hollywood became Mannywood. He hit .396 in the second half of 2008 following the trade, and maybe this was because his image was satisfied. Better yet, maybe it was the estrogen, taken in an attempt to endear Los Angeles to both his antics and his game.

Whatever the case, the antics got old after a while, and here in 2011, Manny has turned to drugs once again in a desperate attempt to regain former baseball glory. Not Manny glory - baseball glory. But because he did it the Manny Being Manny way, he Manny Being Mannyed his way out of baseball, with the events of previous seasons plaguing him just as much as his decision to use again this offseason. An unceremonious end to an otherwise brilliant career, which, as mentioned earlier, is just plain disappointing. Manny Being Manny. So long.