GLENDALE, Ariz. — I journeyed to Dodgertown in the desert Sunday, seeking truth and enlightenment. I wanted to know about this thing called Manny Mania.
I didn’t have to search far.
An hour before the Rockies-Dodgers game, fans wearing sparkling white-and-blue No. 99 jerseys were stacked four deep down the right- field line. They soaked up rays and paid homage to the man who hit .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBIs in 53 games last season, leading the Dodgers to the NLCS.
I get the great player part.
But this La-La Land love affair with baseball’s multimillionaire brat? I don’t get that.
Isn’t Manny the guy who shoved a 63-year-old Red Sox employee to the ground? Isn’t Manny the guy Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon called a clubhouse cancer? Isn’t Manny the guy who hustles when he wants to and quits whenever he feels like it?
Isn’t Manny the 36-year-old who tweaked his hamstring — again — Sunday and then told , “Age is catching up to me. Maybe it’s a bad investment. I just have to be patient, that’s what I’ve got to do. Only God knows what’s best for me.”
But I tried to keep an open mind as I waded into the crowd to ask some paying customers about No. 99.
“He’s got this aura about him; I just had to buy his jersey,” said Mike Gillick, a middle-aged Dodgers fan from, of all places, Cotopaxi, Colo. “The crowd goes crazy for him. He’s just got this magnetism about him.”
So I asked Gillick a question: If you’re the GM of a major-league team, would you give Ramirez a two-year, $45 million contract?
“Absolutely. I think he’s a steal,” Gillick said. “And I just decided that today when I was watching him take BP. It’s amazing. I think in a place like L.A., which is eccentric, he’s a gold mine.”
Then I found JD Darling from Dallas. He’s a longtime Red Sox fan, and his wife is from Boston.
“Manny is one of the greatest players ever,” Darling said. “But it’s all about him. He’s selfish.”
Then I asked Darling the $45 million question.
“I don’t pay him,” Darling said.
Even if he was still with the Red Sox?
“We didn’t want him, we don’t want him and they can have him,” Darling said.
Thus enlightened, sort of, I contemplated my newfound wisdom. They love Manny because he’s unique, talented and risky. He’s Lindsay Lohan in cleats, and he’s the perfect fit for L.A. They’ll love him until he leaves, gets hurt or quits on his team. Whichever comes first.
Patrick Saunders covers MLB. Contact: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@
