The Official Site of Hanley Ramirez

Sun, Apr 19th 2009, 11:25

Ramirez a big catch for Marlins

The Red Sox won their second World Series in four years in 2007 partly because of the significant contributions made by Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett. Lowell still plays third base for Boston and Beckett is among the top pitchers in baseball when he’s healthy.

The trade that brought Lowell and Beckett to Fenway Park certainly can’t be second-guessed from a Boston perspective, but the Florida Marlins did obtain someone in the seven-player deal on Thanksgiving 2005 who has achieved superstar status: Hanley Ramirez. The 25-year-old shortstop is already among the game’s best players and he’s likely to become even better. Ramirez can hit for average and power, possesses speed and he’s exciting defensively.

It’s reasonable to argue that the Marlins might not have gotten the funding for their new stadium last month if they didn’t sign Ramirez to a long-term deal last May. Throughout their history there have been questions about how committed the Marlins were to winning and to south Florida. Although the club has won two World Series, the team’s payroll has usually been among the lowest in baseball. Last May, the club’s owners did something out of character by signing Ramirez to a seven-year contract worth a team-record $70 million. The ballpark is slated to open in the Little Havana section of Miami in 2012. Before the team moves into its new stadium its name will change from Florida Marlins to Miami Marlins.

``I was surprised when the Red Sox traded me. I wanted to play for the Red Sox, but if I didn’t get traded I probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity I received with the Marlins,’‘ said Ramirez. ``I was behind a lot of very good major league players when I was in the Red Sox’ organization.’‘

Ramirez became an all-star for the first time last season. He batted .301, slammed 33 home runs and 34 doubles and drove in 67 runs while batting leadoff. Ramirez scored a major-league leading 125 runs and successfully converted 35 of 47 stolen base attempts.

The Marlins played surprising well last year. Despite having the lowest payroll in the major leagues ($22 million), Florida was at least tied for first place in the NL East for 42 days. The Fish eventually finished third behind Philadelphia and New York, but their 84 victories were the third-highest total in franchise history.

``We have a lot of good young players,’‘ said Ramirez. ``Our guys play hard. We try to do things the right way, do the things a team needs to if it’s going to reach the playoffs.’‘

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