Does Manny Ramirez Belong in the Hall of Fame?

One of the all-time great sports debates has always been as to who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and who doesn't.

The sport that this debate is most interesting in, is baseball.  Baseball is different from the rest as there are so many more things to consider when people vote for the HOF.  One of the biggest problems that has come to fruition in recent years has been the use of steroids in professional baseball. 

Nobody seems to be quite sure whether players who have taken steroids or other performance enhancing drugs should be allowed to be a member of baseballs most prestigious group.

Manny Ramirez has been one of the players who has entered the Hall of Fame debate as he quite obviously nears retirement.  It was discovered in the "Mitchell Report" that Manny used steroids which added even more fuel to the fire.  Some debated whether his attitude and antics should affect his chances of making the Hall of Fame.

The majority claimed that Manny's numbers more than made up for his bad personality. When the steroid issue came along the argument became a 50/50 one that had baseball split on whether they thought Manny deserved a spot in Cooperstown.

The remainder of this article will discuss the different factors that may or may not get Manny into the Hall of Fame.

Manny Ramirez is without a doubt one of the most powerful and most productive hitters to ever play the game of baseball.  Manny has had absolutely monstrous seasons and has received many awards and honors for his accomplishments at the plate.  Manny is a career .313 which ranks him 74th all time, which some of you make think is really far from number one, and your right. 

But, when you consider that Manny is a power hitter and not exactly a speedster, I would say 74th all-time is pretty darn good.  Manny has 555 career home runs which makes him one of only 25 players in major league history with 500-plus.  Ramirez also ranks 13th all time in home runs on the all-time list.  Ramirez has driven in 1830 runs in his career as well which ranks him 17th all-time.

Manny has also won several awards and honors throughout his very decorated career. Man-Ram won the American League batting crown in 2002 (.349 AVG) and has led the league in home runs (2004) and in RBI (1999).   Manny is a 12-time All-Star and has won the prestigious Hank Aaron award twice.

Manny is also a two-time World Series champion and in 2004 was the World Series MVP. Manny Ramirez has also won a silver slugger nine times and has lead the respective leagues in several different categories for extended periods of time throughout his career.

Manny's reputation has not always been the best.  Manny hasn't always had his head in the game, sometimes he would just seem disinterested and other times he just doesn't seem to care or want to do anything for that matter. 

Most fans either love(d) him or hate(d) him.  There didn't truly seem to be an in between.  Manny was lazy and just plain odd.  He left almost all the teams he played for on terrible terms and hurt a ton of fans.  Every organization he has been with has wanted Manny gone at some point.

The other factor for Manny is the steroid allegations and the controversy that surrounded it.  Ramirez was one of the big names mentioned in the Mitchell Report that caught the eye of baseball fans everywhere.  Manny did his apologizing and served his 50-game suspension. 

Of course, Manny never really admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs.  He instead made the claim that he was using medication to address his erectile dis function.  Is it the truth?  Probably not.  But hey, maybe that was the case but we will never know.

In my opinion, I truly believe Manny Ramirez belongs in the Hall of Fame.  At the end of the day, this isn't a "Hall of Good Behavior."  The Hall is for players who have spectacular career stats and have dominated baseball.

Even though Manny has well, been Manny that doesn't mean he needs to be shunned from the HOF.  It means that Ramirez needs to take some classes on public appearance and behavior but I digress.  Even with the steroids scandal surrounding him, like Barry Bonds and like Alex Rodriguez, you cannot possibly ignore the numbers they put up (not comparing Manny to them).

Manny deserves some credit.

Manny deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. 

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