Gold Glove and 500 HRs: Both For Boston's Manny Ramirez?

Is there any player in Major League Baseball other than Manny Ramirez who exhibits the fun of the game? 

In Wednesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles, Ramirez went back on a sharp line drive by former teammate Kevin Miller and made (in Manny's world) a stellar running catch. Most left fielders would make this catch and quickly turn and fire it to the cutoff man. 

But Manny isn't your everyday left fielder. 

Ramirez made the running catch and proceeded to run towards the wall, only to high five a Red Sox fan sitting the the stands. It was a classic case of "Manny being Manny". That wasn't the best part of the play, however. 

After giving the fan a high five, Ramirez fired the ball to Dustin Pedro, who relayed the ball to first and doubled up Aubrey Huff. Not your everyday double play. 

Manny has been under criticism for his lack-luster defense in left field and his inability to catch balls that he should. But boy, when ManRam is having fun, everyone is. How many left fielders would give a fan a high five? Manny Ramirez makes this game fun. Disregard his occasional absentmindedness.

Manny Ramirez is one of the best players in the game, and this just goes to show that he has fun doing it. Manny has eclipsed almost every hitting feat imaginable. What left does he have to obtain? A Gold Glove, perhaps?

Manny recently stated that he would like to win one to add to his shelf of hitters' awards. Maybe that's the reason he's hustling now. Whatever the case is, it's great baseball. 

Look at the replay from that catch. Look at Mike Lowell and other teammates watching the replay and laughing.

That is what this game is about: having fun and smiling. Manny Ramirez is the cause of that. That is what a major league player is.

Now on to more of a serious topic.

Ramirez is stuck on 498 home runs. Everyone is waiting for Manny to get to that 500 home run mark. It's the mark of Hall of Fame hitters. Eclipsing this plateau will essentially guarantee Manny a spot in Cooperstown. 

Now the big question: when will he do it? My guess? It absolutely has to be this week. Look at the opposing pitchers the Red Sox are facing this upcoming week: only one of the six upcoming pitchers has a record above .500.

This is the best chance for Manny to knock a couple over the Green Monster and have the city of Boston go crazy. Expect it to happen later on in the week, possibly against Kansas City on Tuesday or Wednesday. Once Manny reaches this milestone, he'll be the first one since the Mitchell Report to eclipse a hitting mark. 

In this steroids era that we live in, this has to be huge. No current Red Sox players were named on the Report, nor have any been accused by Jose Canseco (or anyone else, for that matter). Manny has been smacking home runs ever since his days in Cleveland, and he's been doing it the right way. That makes this feat all the more special.