With more than 1,100 homers between them, two of baseball’s greatest sluggers — Manny Ramirez and Ken Griffey Jr. — switched leagues just before the trade deadline Thursday.
Unhappy in Boston, Ramirez got his wish when he was shipped to the Dodgers in a blockbuster, three-team deal that sent outfielder Jason Bay from Pittsburgh to the Red Sox.
So now, Manny can be Manny on the West Coast.
“Manny being Manny can also mean he’ll hit a lot of home runs and drive in a lot of runs,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said.
Griffey, 38, also agreed to a trade, leaving his hometown Reds to get back in a pennant race with the White Sox.
It was the first time two players with at least 500 homers have been traded during the same season — let alone on the same day, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Dodgers also received cash considerations.
The Red Sox will pay the estimated $7 million owed to Ramirez through the end of the season, at which time he can become a free agent. Ramirez was in the final guaranteed year of an eight-year, $160 million contract, and the Red Sox held $20 million options for the next two seasons.
As part of the trade, the club options were eliminated.
In return, the Red Sox got the 29-year-old Bay, a two-time all-star who was hitting .282 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs.
The last-place Pirates, looking for young talent, received reliever Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss from Boston and third baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers. LaRoche, Moss and Hansen will join the Pirates, while Morris will go to the team’s Single-A affiliate.
Ramirez, 36, hit his 500th home run this season. He was batting .299 and led the Red Sox with 20 homers and 68 RBIs. He is one of eight players to hit at least 20 homers in 14 consecutive seasons.
The Reds sent Griffey and cash to Chicago for reliever Nick Masset and Triple-A second baseman Danny Richar.
Griffey played right field the last two seasons, but will return to center when he joins the White Sox tonight for the start of a series in Kansas City, Mo. Griffey takes over for Nick Swisher, who moves to first base in place of the slumping Paul Konerko. Swisher also will give up his No. 30 to Griffey, who wore it during his earliest years in Cincinnati.
Griffey hit a three-run homer in a 9-5 win at Houston on Wednesday that left him with 15 home runs, 53 RBIs and a .245 batting average despite playing in one of baseball’s most homer-friendly ballparks.
The only other deals Thursday drew little attention.
Florida acquired left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes from Seattle for Double-A pitcher Gaby Hernandez, and the Yankees sent slick-fielding shortstop Alberto Gonzalez to Washington for pitcher Jhonny Nuñez in a swap of minor-leaguers.
Teams can still make trades but the players involved must pass through waivers first, which limits availability.
