By StephanieLee Elliott
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays before playing one season at the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan. Ramirez is recognized for having great batting skill and power. He was a nine-time Silver Slugger and was one of 28 players to hit 500 career home runs. His 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 29 postseason home runs are the most in MLB history. He appeared in 12 All-Star Games, with a streak of eleven consecutive games beginning in 1998 that included every season that he played with the Red Sox.
Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. When he was 13 years old, he moved to New York City with his parents, Onelcida and Aristides. He attended George Washington High School and became a baseball standout. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the 1991 MLB draft, 13th overall. He made his MLB debut on September 2, 1993.
In 1994, Ramirez became a major league regular, and finished second in voting for the Rookie of the Year Award. By 1995, he had become an All-Star. He was with the Indians in playoff appearances in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999; this included an appearance in the 1995 and 1997 World Series. In 1999, Ramirez set the Indians’ single-season RBIs record with 165 RBIs. After the 2000 season, Ramirez signed with the Boston Red Sox. During his time in Boston, Ramirez and teammate David Ortiz became one of the best offensive tandems in baseball history. Ramirez led the Red Sox to World Series Championships in 2004 and 2007 before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008 as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In 2009, Ramirez was suspended 50 games for violating baseball’s drug policy by taking human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a women’s fertility drug that is often taken after steroids. In the spring of 2011, Ramirez was informed by MLB of another violation of its drug policy, and a 100-game suspension. He chose to retire on April 8 rather than be suspended. However, in September 2011, Ramirez wished to be reinstated and agreed in December with the league to a reduced 50-game suspension. Though he played at various points in the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs systems, as well as internationally, Ramirez did not appear in another Major League game.
Known as a complete hitter who could hit for both power and average, and widely regarded as one of the best right-handed hitters of his generation, Ramirez finished his career with a lifetime .312 batting average, 555 home runs (15th all-time), and 1,831 RBI (18th all-time). In 111 postseason games, Ramirez posted a .285 batting average with 29 home runs and 78 RBI.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau (first premier of Quebec after Confederation) –
- Norman Cota (U.S. brigadier general) –
- Howard Hawks (director of film) –
- Mel Blanc (voice of Bugs Bunny and other characters) –
- Benny Goodman (musician & bandleader) –
- Wynonna Judd (country music singer) –
- Manny Ramirez (baseball player) –
Died
- Wilbur Wright (aviator) –
- Boris Pasternak (writer) –
- Marcel Dupré (composer) –
- Perry Ellis (fashion designer) –
- Gus Wickstrom (retired farmer who used pig spleens to forecast the weather [claimed 90% accuracy]) –
Events
- U.S. and Mexico ratifications of Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo exchanged at Queretaro. (Treaty was originally signed on Feb. 2, 1848.)–
- First U.S. national celebration of Memorial (Decoration) Day took place in the Arlington National Cemetery of Virginia–
- First 500 mile automobile race at Indianapolis Speedway was held–
- Lincoln Memorial dedicated in Washington, D.C.–
- From Cape Kennedy, Florida, the U.S. launched Mariner 9, first spacecraft to orbit another planet–
- Thirteen-year-old Arvind Mahankali, of Bayside Hills, New York, correctly spelled knaidel to become the champion of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Oxon Hill, Maryland–
- Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury stole five bases during his team’s 9-2 win against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a club record.–
- May 30-31: 8 co-champions were declared for the Scripps Spelling Bee–
Weather
- Massive flooding of Columbia River caused dike break that destroyed Vanport, Oregon–
- Hanford, Washington, had a temperature of 104 degrees F–
- Yakima, Washington, hit 102 degrees F–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
