Red Sox: Why Manny Ramirez is Great Just the Way He is

Look at the picture above. What adjective would you use to describe Manny Ramirez? Goofy? Aloof? Kinda crazy? Well, people have called him that and much, much more, but I can think of better ones.

Professional, hard working, dedicated.

If your reaction is to scoff at that, consider this:

Manny is one of the best teammates in baseball. He never calls out any of his fellow teammates. He demands trades sometimes, but never takes shots at the front office. And if you can come up with a time in which Manny acted like a jerk, please feel free to tell me.

Because I cannot remember any.

By teammates' and coaches' accounts, Manny is a video nut. He spends hours in front of his laptop watching his swing, looking for areas to improve. He also looks at opposing pitchers, looking for weaknesses in their games.

"Oh, but he doesn't play defense well."

Myth. Manny plays good defense, he doesn't play spectacular defense but he's not paid $18 million to play like Jim Edmonds. Also, I still haven't seen anyone play left field at Fenway the way he does. He plays the bounces off the monster perfectly and is always in great position.

Manny is in great shape every year. It doesn't matter when he reports for spring training as long as he does in the shape he does every year.

The media focuses on the Manny that is aloof. I cannot count in one hand how many times ESPN talked about the fact that Manny was selling a grill on eBay. But tell me one thing, how many times has Sportscenter visited Manny in his off-season home and showed the world his workout regiment?

None? Well, I thought so.

Plus, who would you rather have on your team? Aloof, kinda crazy Manny or the uptight, it's never my fault A-Rod?

Let's see, Manny has two World Series' rings, A-Rod has none.

So, for all the naysayers out there, let Manny be himself, he is now a member of the 500 HR club and on his way to Cooperstown.

Manny being Manny is fine by me.