Manny Ramírez was a phenomenal hitter as a player and is trying to find a job as a Major League hitting coach, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman.
"Manny Ramirez is seeking a hitting coach job in MLB, agent Hector Zepeda said," Heyman wrote on X on Monday. "Ramirez, who hit 555 HRs and batted .312, last worked as a player/coach for the Sydney Blue Sox in Australia in 2020-21. He's so determined to get back in the game he’s willing to go to the minors."
Ramírez was a 12-time All-Star, nine-time Silver Slugger, batting champion and World Series MVP in his 19-year playing career. He spent eight seasons with the Red Sox, making the All-Star game in each of those seasons. He won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.
He was inducted into the Red Sox's Hall of Fame in 2020. Ramírez does not have any real experience as a coach at a professional level, but his career numbers should serve as enough of a resume to help him find a gig with a needy team.
The Red Sox could actually be a team that brings him on in some role. The Red Sox fired their hitting coach, Peter Fatse, when they fired Alex Cora in April. John Soteropulos, who was an assistant hitting coach prior to the staff changes, took over as the lead hitting coach. The Red Sox are not going to simply make Ramírez the new hitting coach because he wants to get into coaching, but they could bring him in as an assistant to Soteropulos.
It would be a great way for him to get his feet wet, and where better for him to start his journey as a coach than with the franchise he played the most games for in his career. During the Red Sox's end-of-season press conference, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow harped on the team's need to slug better. Ramírez was a great slugger in his time and could help in that department now as a coach.