Manny Ramirez became a legend for helping break the Boston Red Sox’s more than 80-year championship drought and for inflicting considerable damage on the New York Yankees, their biggest rival in MLB.
The 12-time All-Star and 2004 World Series MVP tormented the Yankees on numerous occasions, showcasing his offensive power. Over 203 games against them, Ramirez batted .322 with 55 home runs and 165 RBIs, consistently proving to be a threat at the plate.
Despite his history against New York, Manny Ramirez recently made a surprising admission—he has always felt a special affinity for the Yankees. “I’m always a Yankee fan,” Ramirez said on The Bronx Zoo podcast this week.
A surprising confession from Manny Ramirez
Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Ramirez moved to the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City as a teenager, where he emerged as one of baseball’s top prospects while playing for George Washington High School in Upper Manhattan. “I went to school in New York. That was one of my dreams, to play with the Yankees,” Ramirez said. “Didn’t happen, but I got two World Series.”
Despite his battles with the Yankees, Ramirez acknowledged that he always enjoyed playing in New York. “The Yankees fans are the best,” he said. “They demand a lot, like Boston fans, because they want to win, and we [wanted] to win also.”
A legacy in Boston
While Ramirez has a deep connection to New York, his greatest achievements came with the Red Sox. Between 2001 and 2008, he amassed a .312/.411/.588 slash line with 274 home runs and 868 RBIs, securing his place in Red Sox history as a Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer. His contributions earned him a spot in the team’s Hall of Fame in 2022. “It was awesome,” Ramirez told The Boston Globe after being honored at Fenway Park.