At Home Plate - Point/Counterpoint: Fan Reaction to Manny

At Home Plate

Point/Counterpoint: Fan Reaction to Manny

Written by At Home Plate Staff (Contact & Archive) on May 13, 2009

Fans always had a soft spot for Manny Ramirez and his careless, sometimes childlike behaviour. But how will fans react now that he has been suspended for taking PED? Will they forgive him and continue to love him or will they make a 180° turn, consider him a villain and boo him mercilessly? Jonathan Leshanski and Daniel Paulling have different opinions on that.

Expect Warm Welcome for Ramirez
By Jonathan Leshanski

How do you view Manny now?

Photo by Keith Allison, used under creative commons license.

In a different day and age, Manny Ramirez might have been run out of town for cheating and doing something unethical, as it would have been considered a taint on the whole team. That’s no longer true. Steroids and cheating have become part of the game and even if we don’t embrace them we’ve at least come to tolerate them.

Because of that, Ramirez won’t become a pariah in LA, at least so long as the Dodgers are still in the thick of a division race when he comes back from the suspension. No, Manny will be embraced with open arms as the savior of baseball, not just for Los Angeles, but for the whole NL West which appears to be a rather dismal division at this moment.

And to the average fan winning is what counts. They’ll overlook Manny’s cheating as they have for superstars in NY, SF, Chicago and elsewhere. Manny will be welcomed with open arms – so long as the Dodgers win.

Ramirez’s Personality Won’t Help Him Now
By Daniel Paulling

I don’t know how he did it, but Manny Ramirez, before his positive test for hGC, had a strong public following. This is the same guy who pushed down an elderly travel secretary for the Boston Red Sox because he didn’t give Ramirez enough tickets. This is the same guy who quit on his team last year while complaining of a fake knee injury. This is the same guy who continually loafed to first base because he didn’t want to put forth the effort.

In other words, Ramirez was the perfect example of spoiled, overpaid athlete that fans should hate. But they didn’t. Now Ramirez has drilled the final hole into his coffin.

Fans aren’t stupid, Manny. You can do all of the things you did and get away with it, but you’re never going to get away with lying about cheating. Ramirez said he received a prescription from a doctor. Ramirez hasn’t admitted the truth: That he is a steroid cheat and his career has been a lie.

The players who are forthright, guys like Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte, were well received by fans. Alex Rodriguez was initially booed, but fans will forgive him because he told the truth. Ramirez lied to fans, and everyday he doesn’t tell the truth, that’ll be more reason for fans to hate him.

Now Ramirez has outdone himself. He’s tainted the game. Fans can only forgive so much. And they’ll let him know that.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites