Baseball's best run producer has a new nickname.
No, it's not some hideously trendy abbreviation that combines his first initial with the first part of his last name. Save that for J-Lo, A-Rod and C-Web.
Baseball's best run producer is called, simply, "The Freak," given to him by teammate Carl Everett.
|  | | Manny Ramirez, left, has been getting plenty of congratulations from teammates. |
The Freak? Because it's not normal to drive in 24.2 percent of your team's runs through the first quarter of the season. Because it's not normal to be hitting .406 when there's little protection for you in the batting order. Because it's not normal to be on a pace to top 200 RBI for a season.
But then, when it comes to what he's accomplished this year, Manny Ramirez isn't normal, either. His numbers are otherworldly.
"He's like a machine," marvels teammate Lou Merloni. "When he gets into a situation where he can get an RBI, he's just eating them up. As long as he stays comfortable in his situation, it feels like (the RBI) are automatic."
Everett, whose power numbers are off some, said over the weekend that he's changed his approach while hitting in front of Ramirez.
"I just want to get on base for The Freak," Everett said.
Ramirez's at-bats have become appointment television. When Ramirez comes to the plate with men on base, it's must-see-TV.
Already without two-time batting champion Nomar Garciaparra, the Red Sox shudder to think where they'd be without Ramirez. Certainly, it wouldn't be first place in the AL East, where they currently reside as they start a three-game showdown series with the New York Yankees Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Without Garciaparra to get on base in front of him, Ramirez is terrorizing American League pitching. The tougher the situation is, the better he responds.
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A Little Help?
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It's no surprise that Manny Ramirez is putting up huge numbers, but with little or no protection behind him in the lineup it's surprising that pitchers are continuing to throw Ramirez strikes. And Manny is just one of many hitters having solid seasons despite a lack of production from the players behind them. Here's a look at some of the game's best hitters and how their AVG-HR-RBI-SLG numbers compare to the players filling the next slot in the order.
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Manny Ramirez
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.406-15-54-.764
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Red Sox #5 spot
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.249-7-25-.387
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Barry Bonds
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.305-23-43-.908
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Giants #4 spot
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.269-7-36-.497
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Juan Gonzalez
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.360-11-42-.652
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Indians # 5 spot
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.250-8-28-.486
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Alex Rodriguez
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.320-15-42-.651
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Rangers #4 spot
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.266-11-36-.521
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Luis Gonzalez
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.341-20-43-.760
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D-Backs #4 spot
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.302-7-28-.514
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Jason Giambi
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.329-9-28-.601
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A's #4 spot
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.203-4-23-.328
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With the bases empty, Ramirez is hitting .387. Put a man on base and the average soars to .422. Get a man in scoring position and he's hitting .456. Finally, with men in scoring position and two outs, perhaps the truest test of all, Ramirez is hitting .571. Almost half of his RBI, in fact, have come with two outs.
Yikes.
"Enjoy what you're seeing out there," advises manager Jimy Williams, "because he is just one outstanding hitter."
Ramirez is remarkably unimpressed with his season to date.
"It's too early to get excited," he said. "When the season is over, then I can say, 'Oh, yeah, I did a good job.' But not now."
Though there were major concerns about how Ramirez would deal with the demands of stardom and pressure in Boston when he signed, he's eliminated them.
Sheltered in his time in Cleveland, it was thought that the Dominican-born, New York-raised slugger might have difficulty in his new home, where media coverage is intense and often unforgiving and the fans can be bloodthirsty.
But from the time of his introductory press conference last December, Ramirez has charmed everyone. Notoriously shy and self-conscious about his English while with the Indians, Ramirez now regularly chats with the media and is a playful, if somewhat reserved, presence in the Red Sox clubhouse.
Jokes one member of the Cleveland media: "For six years, all we got is 'Hi, big guy.' He gets to Boston and it's like he's turned into Winston Churchill."
In his own way, he may be the perfect player for Boston in that he is genuinely unaware of what's being said and written about him. Ramirez exists in his own cocoon, populated by a small circle of friends. There isn't room for outside distractions.
In the movie "Being There," Chauncey Gardner liked to watch. Manny Ramirez likes to hit. And never mind about everything else.
Ramirez has found a comfort level in Boston in part because he's been limited to designated hitter duties. In March, Ramirez balked at the suggestion that he play left field, with the Sox fearing that the spacious right field in Fenway would be too troublesome for his mediocre defensive skills.
Ramirez politely but firmly said he didn't want to try a new position. A subsequent hamstring pull then took him out of the outfield mix entirely. His hamstring has long since mended, but the Red Sox have yet to put him back in the outfield, fearful that they may disturb his run production muse.
Largely unaccustomed to the DH role until this season, Ramirez has used his time between at-bats wisely. He uses the Red Sox computerized video system to review previous at-bats in the clubhouse.
He's tireless about his preparation. On a recent homestand, he exited the Red Sox clubhouse to head out for some early batting practice.
"Gotta work on my swing," he said, smiling.
Like it needs any work.
"He's better than I ever thought he was," catcher Jason Varitek said. "I always thought that Nomar (Garciaparra) was the best hitter I've ever played with. Manny has more power, but from a pure hitting standpoint, those two are pretty close."
In what may have been the ultimate compliment, Oakland manager Art Howe earlier this month issued an intentional walk to Ramirez with no one on base in extra innings.
It's a wonder more managers haven't pitched around Ramirez. For most of the season, he's hit in front of Troy O'Leary, who's hitting a woeful .230. More recently, O'Leary has been replaced by Dante Bichette, who has just five extra-base hits.
None of this seems to matter to Ramirez, who merely gobbles up his RBI opportunities like Pac-Man.
He became the first Red Sox player in more than a half a century to collect 50 RBI in his first 40 games. Told that he's driving in runs at a pace that would shatter Hack Wilson's long-standing single-season RBI record, Ramirez, Chauncey-like, responds: "I don't care about that record. I just want to win."
Ramirez worries that his astounding start has ratcheted expectations to an unreal level that even he cannot match.
"You're going to have some good stretches and some bad stretches. I'll take this now, because I'm going to go through some bad times. You're not always going to be The Man."
For now, the Red Sox will settle for him being The Freak.
Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal writes a major-league notebook for ESPN.com.
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