Manny Ramirez Agrees to Contract With Oakland Athletics
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J. Meric/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Manny Ramirez is officially back in Major League Baseball. According to ESPN’s Pedro Gomez, the Oakland Athletics have signed Ramirez to a one-year contract worth $500,000, ending his retirement from the game of baseball.
Ramirez played in just five games last season for the Tampa Bay Rays, then was suspended for 100 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs for the second time in his career. Instead of serving out his suspension, Ramirez decided to retire. Ramirez will only have to serve 50 games of his suspension this year.
Despite the positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs, Ramirez is one of the greatest hitter of his era. He ranks fourteenth all-time with 555 career home runs, has a career batting average of .312, has driven in 1,831 runs, and has an on-base percentage of .411.
By the time Ramirez suits up for the A’s in a regular season game, he will be 40 years old.
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