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Manny Ramirez: 'I won't be here' in '11
By: espn.comPosted On: 02/22/2010 3:34 P
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Manny Ramirez appeared in the Dodgers' clubhouse for the first time on Monday morning and promptly conceded this would be his final spring training with the club.
Manny Ramirez appeared in the Dodgers' clubhouse for the first time on Monday morning and promptly conceded this would be his final spring training with the club.
"I won't be here next year, so I just want to enjoy myself," Ramirez said. "I don't know [if I'll play next year]. I just know I'm not going to be here. When the season is over, I will see where I'm at."
Ramirez will turn 38 on May 30 and is entering the final season of a two-year, $45 million contract. He spent a large chunk of last season serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy and most of the rest of the season struggling at the plate.
He said he hasn't been told by club officials that the Dodgers aren't interested in re-signing him, but he added that it probably isn't realistic to expect them to do so.
"I'm just speculating but I'm not 23 anymore," Ramirez said.
Ramirez said he would wait until after the season to determine if he wants to play in the major leagues for what would be a 19th year. His options might be limited to the American League, which uses the designated hitter, because of his defensive limitations in left field.
"The game is still fun, but I think I have to wait until the season ends and see where my family is at before I make a choice," Ramirez said. "I will just wait and see how my body reacts"
After working out for most of the winter near his South Florida home, Ramirez said his legs feel fine entering spring training.
"From the waist down, I feel 15," he said. "From the neck up, I feel 43. I feel good."
Ramirez also had little to say when asked about manager Joe Torre's plan to rest him more often to keep his legs fresher over the course of the season, an obvious reaction to the fact Ramirez hit just .218 after Sept. 1 last year.
"You have to talk to him about that," Ramirez said. "I'm an employee here. I just do what they want me to do."
On the subject of this probably being his final season in a Dodgers uniform, Ramirez continued to gush about the season and a half he has spent in Los Angeles.
"That has been great," he said. "I wish I could have been there a long time ago."
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