Just last week Manny Ramirez, 42, signed a contract with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs as a player/coach. On Wednesday afternoon in Arizona he hit a 450-foot home run at extended spring training.
Manny Ramirez, new player-coach of the @IowaCubs, hit a 450-foot home run today in Tempe. Photo by @baseballinfocus. pic.twitter.com/LlyADvziYI
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) June 4, 2014
image via Twitter from BryanGraham
Ramirez’s last long season was in 2010. He was still signed to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011, but only played a total of five games via ESPN.
Anyway in his first bit of action back to the baseball diamond in over two years the aging veteran did his thing, hit a massive home run and finished it off with a big bat flip.
Although he displayed his remaining power on Wednesday afternoon, the Cubs made it clear to him that he was not in the run for a big-league position and instead will focus on the development of young players according to Yahoo.
With that said, is he the best role model for young players heading into the league? His career and signature bat flip were based off of one thing – cockiness.