Manny Ramirez

“Manny being Manny.” That was the bemused way people used to explain the weird behavior of Manny Ramirez, the slugger who retired on April 8 with 555 career home runs. Though the act was occasionally endearing, there’s nothing funny about the cloud of suspicion now hanging over Ramirez’s career. Ramirez retired rather than face another suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. In 2009, Ramirez served a 50-game suspension for using a banned substance; that same year, it was reported that he was among several who had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. What a shame. Ramirez’s talent was prodigious. He never needed to cheat.