Manny Ramirez reaches on an error in his first Iowa Cubs at bat (Video)
By Dan Zinski
Trivia question: What happened in Manny Ramirez’s first plate appearance as a player-coach for the triple-A Iowa Cubs?
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Answer: He reached on an error.
That will probably not go down as one of the most memorable of all baseball trivia questions. But still, it’s an interesting historical footnote. Hall of Fame-caliber masher Manny Ramirez is back in professional ball, toiling away as a player-coach for the Cubs’ triple-A affiliate. In his first AB, he made contact and got to first on an error.
It’s not the massive Mannian home run fans were hoping for, but it’s something.
Actually, it wasn’t a great day for Manny overall. He played the second half of a doubleheader against Colorado Springs and went 0-4 with two strikeouts. Those still holding out hope for Manny to make a full MLB comeback…you might want to hold off on purchasing that Manny Ramirez Cubs jersey. I don’t think we’ll be seeing Manny patrolling left field in Wrigley any time soon.
Of course the plan isn’t to bring Manny up to the bigs, it’s for him to work with the young guys in triple-A, and bring a few people to the park by suiting up in the occasional game. Manny talked to MLB.com about his approach on his first day back out there with the kids:
"I was just trying to get to know everybody. First just trying to be their friend, then when I get some confidence with them then I’ll say, “Hey, I’ll tell you something.” But I don’t want to come out right away and say, “You’re doing this and doing that.”"
Manny being Coach Manny? It’s weird, but it’s true.
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