Book Review: Becoming Manny

Becoming Manny is an “authorized biography” written by Dr. Jean Rhodes and reporter Shawn Boburg which set out to explain why Manny is Manny, by researching Manny Ramirez’s life by interviewing family members, coaches, teammates, managers, and analyzing newspaper, TV, and internet reports.

Ultimately, the question is: is Manny Ramirez is a villain or a misunderstood kid or an idiot savant (like Rainman) who knows how to hit and nothing else? Since Manny himself doesn’t give in-depth interviews and is a ghost hovering in the background in this book, we don’t know.

Anyway, here are some things we do learn about Manny:

1) The only, and youngest boy- he was spoiled by his sisters and mother. He was a cute baby in the Dominican Republic and never had responsibilities.
2) As a kid in the D.R., he never bonded with his father, who still has issues with his Manny’s mother to this day.
3) Growing up, he never involved his family with his baseball practice or life. His only interests were baseball, food, girls, and working out.
4) He is shy and has little self-esteem when it comes to speaking English. However, like many people who are shy, he is very talkative and mischievous with people he feels comfortable with.
5) Manny bonded with his little league coach, who works in an emergency room in Washington Heights. He is the only person never to ask Manny for money, and the only person to whom Manny confides his secrets, feelings, and looks to advice. The man has an open invitation to live with Manny and his wife and kids in Pembroke Pines, Florida, but he rejected the offer so he can earn a pension to take care of his own family in the Bronx.
6) Manny’s trend is to bond with male coaches or managers whom he trusts. Many coaches, managers, and agents instantly fell in love with Manny because of his talent and his innocent goofy naivety. Manny subconsciously looks for mentors to fill the father-figure void and on his way up the baseball ladder, and he found them in abundance, although he only remains 100% honest and friends with one of them in 2009.
7) Manny’s mental lapses- on the field and off- had always occurred, even when he was in high school. On the field, Manny is infamous for baserunning mistakes, fielding bloopers, and “dogging it” by faking injuries and not hustling. But even before he was in the major leagues, he would do stuff like that- misjudge balls, run to the wrong base, show up late, transportation issues, etc. Off the field- Manny has 70+ motor vehicle tickets, refused to drive his girlfriend (and future wife) home because he was afraid he’d get lost, he hardly carries cash, and his teammates and baseball clubs had to cover his taxi fares or restaurant bills.
Manny’s work ethic is hardly reported by the MEDIA. But even from his teenage years, he got up at odd hours to run in the streets (was actually stopped by NY cops and patted down) and to lift weights. Many players were quoted by saying his workout regiment puts them to shame. he eats a lot and pumps iron- all natural.
9) Manny’s philosophy seems to be that he wants to play ball and go home. Talking to reporters, being a role model, or being forced to be a team leader is outside of his job description. He was okay with batting 6th or 7th in the batting order, and actually was nervous about batting 3-5 in Boston.
10) Manny liked being with the Cleveland Indians and never wanted to be with the Boston Red Sox due to the pressure, fan obsession, and MEDIA coverage. His agent pushed him to do it.
11) Manny looked up to Albert Belle, and had a good relationship with Tony Pena.
12) Manny insisted on bringing a clubhouse attendant from Cleveland to Boston as part of his contract. He brought this up at the last minute.
13) Manny treats himself and his women to Taco Bell and Burger King.
14) Even being raised in such a crime infested neighborhood in the Bronx, Manny never did or got involved with drugs.
15) Manny likes malls; once he found out that there are good malls in LA, he felt good about the trade.
16) The MEDIA tends to overdo it with Manny. Don’t believe what Peter Gammons or Tim McCarver or SportsCenter say.
17) Manny’s Dominican culture is 100% different than U.S. culture, from customs to perception of reality. If you marry into a family with roots to another country, you can understand how different immigrants are when compared to White Suburbia, and where Manny’s loyalties lie.
18) Manny is a funny and secretly generous guy. Just don’t ask him for money.
19) He had to be held back when he tried to smash Curt Schilling fat face in the Red Sox clubhouse after Curt verbally attacked his work ethic. He also had issues with Kevin Youkilis, but the book doesn’t go into detail by interviewing Curt or Kevin about what they thought of Manny.
20) He’s “forgetful”.

There are tons of other anecdotes in this book, which would take me too long to list. But you can’t judge a man’s life based on anecdotes.

Anyway, Manny comes off as either very simple: he’s just a happy immigrant that likes to hit the ball due to his God-given amazing hitting talent, or he’s one of the most complex people in baseball- his aloof, carefree, and nontraditional behavior to Red Sox management, MEDIA, and some of his teammates speaks volumes, as does the unusual way he handles money.

Dr. Rhodes seems to believe that Manny is some sort of unintentional Zen master who has achieved ultimate happiness and who focuses on the moment while he is at the plate, with no memory of bad events or fear while he is hitting. She and other people say that Manny is a hitting genius like Ted Williams, who can predict what pitch is coming. Even further, Manny pretends that a pitch was hard to hit and may actually strike out on purpose so he can give the pitcher a false sense of confidence later in the game to get a clutch hit, or even later in the season. In other words, he has a computer mind like Greg Maddux. The only catch: hitting is all he knows- literally.

Dr. Rhodes and other Manny observers have other theories- that he was never in control in his life, and because of his talent, baseball men seized control of him, drafted him, and he never learned any other skills besides playing baseball. So such trivial matters as showing up on time, knowing how to drive, carrying cash, or being concerned about what other people think about him are outside of his scope of reality. He’s just a kid with no rules, and whose immature behavior is enabled by rich baseball owners who use him for his talent, and will spit him out when he can no longer be productive.

Where the book falls short

• Dr. Rhodes focuses a bit too much on Manny’s upbringing in his environment- Dominican and the Bronx, like that somehow shaped Manny, but he frankly seemed oblivious to poverty, crime, and realy anything going on around him from birth.
• No behind-the-scenes inside info about how Manny and the Red Sox handled their divorce, or what his former teammates really thought of him.
• The authors come off as Manny apologists, and defend his controversial moments (such as not running out ground balls) to “contract negotiation related stress” or focusing on his hitting as opposed to baserunning, instead of just saying the most simple explanation: Manny was getting back at management by tanking it. Manny being Manny is about Manny getting RESPECT, just like how his fellow Dominican Pedro Martinez demands RESPECT. That aspect was missing from the book- Manny’s sense of ego and selfishness. Let’s face it- if a manager had 25 Manny’s half of them would show up to work. Is that acceptable? You tell me.
• When Dr. Rhodes attempts to link Manny Ramirez to Zen Buddhism and the “zone” (the new age basketball metaphysical term for “flow” and 100% instinct focus) it seems as she is making things more complex than it is. I mean, it’s possible Manny is a Zen master but doesn’t realize it, but he would probably laugh at such an assertion and analysis, and not comprehend it.
• Dr. Rhodes should have used the Enneagram Personality Type analysis to get behind Manny’s motivations, fears, and desires. I have always seen Manny as an Enneagram Type 7 (or bi-polar), but the authors present his public image and private image based on interviews from people who just see a glimpse of him, and his true personality gets clouded and is full of noise. We never see the real Manny. Many times he comes off as a Type 9, Type 4, Type 5, or Type 6 in the book, whereas it seems his attachment to women and mentors, non-conventional ways, uncontrollable nature, and hitting focus is that of a Type 7. The book would have been less scattered and reached its conclusion better if Rhodes had some idea about Manny’s true self instead of going in circles and trying to make sense of conflicting and contradictory quotes from family, friends, co-workers, reporters, and management.
• His sex life is nonchalantly glossed over as is his relationship with his first child he had with a teenager…probably because his wife contributed to the book with quotes.

Conclusion
So after reading Becoming Manny, do we find out why Manny is Manny or even how he became Manny? Not really. He’s uneducated and doesn’t follow or respect any social rules or traditions, and doesn’t care what is written or said about him. In many ways, he is a free man, and his statistics show that he is one of the most consistent and productive hitters year after year, so maybe his one genius is hitting…or maybe that’s his only skill in life.

Do I give Manny a Free Pass ™ for holding the Red Sox hostage because he didn’t get his extension or for not speaking to the MEDIA or for getting into fights with the Yankees or his own teammates? Yeah, I feel inclined to let Manny be Manny- as long as teams continue to pay him record breaking contracts, team ownership and management takes the blunt of the blame. Manny doesn’t want to change, and he knows the teams need his bat, so he does what he wants. That’s true freedom right there, and only a few people can get away with that. It’s an enviable freedom.

I don’t hate Manny…I never did and never will. The MEDIA hates him, though. They like guys who respect them and hustle, and give them some quotes, like Mr. Perfect Derek Jeter.

In the end…I have a better respect for Manny- he speaks with his bat. Period. I’m sure he feels a book trying to figure him out is laughable. He doesn’t care, so then frankly neither should we. He is beyond it. He could very well be a Happy Buddha in disguise or he may be a dumb kid who just has a fast and powerful swing. He could just be a normal guy, too. Truthfully, if he never played in Boston, he wouldn’t have had a book written about him. However, I’m also certain he is one be the oddest Hall of Famers there will ever be. What the heck is he gonna say during his acceptance speech? Maybe he won’t show up. We may see him at Taco Bell in Pembroke Pines that day.

Similar Posts:

• Manny Pac Man Pacquiao destroys Ricky Hitman Hatton
• Game 17: Manny hits 2HR off Mussina
• Manny Ramirez Auctions Grill on ebay
• Manny Ramirez signs with Dodgers $45 million
• After Jackie Book Review- Black Baseball Players Book
• Did Joe Torre violate confidentiality in his book?
• SCANDAL: MANNY RAMIREZ SUSPENDED FOR DRUG VIOLATION
• Dennis Eckersley vs Manny Ramirez

Random DailySkew Baseball:

• 2009 New York Yankees Regular Season Over; Tigers-Twins still tied
• Pettitte beats Cliff Lee
• David Ortiz did not use steroids
• Mets and Santana countdown
• Game 77: Pirates slay Rasner and Yankees