Manny Ramirez is a little different, personality-wise, from a lot of other major league players. If he ends up playing in The Bronx, though, Derek Jeter doesn’t sound too concerned about having that outsized personality on his team.
Whether Ramirez, the free-agent slugger and former Yankees tormenter, would be the right fit in the Bombers’ clubhouse is an interesting question. But last night Jeter said he didn’t think Ramirez would have trouble fitting in.
“We’ve had some free personalities throughout the years,” Jeter said at a Central Park event for his Turn 2 Foundation. “David Wells was his own person, [Jason] Giambi was his own person, [Johnny Damon’s] his own person. There’s a lot of different personalities that play on our team. It’s just when you’re on the field, you’re trying to accomplish one thing. So you welcome people with their own personalities.”
As Yankees captain, Jeter – along with people like Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte – is viewed very much as a professional who represents the organization in a classy way. Ramirez, of course, is a ridiculously fearsome hitter, but he doesn’t quite have the reputation of being a model person for a ballclub.
“I don’t know Manny well, off the field. I know him from playing against him. But I don’t think people have problems fitting in,” Jeter said. “So that won’t be a headline tomorrow that I said Manny’s not going to fit in fine, right?”
Jeter is loath to say too much about Ramirez. After all, he’s not on the Yankees at the moment, and he might never be.
“I know he’s had a lot of success everywhere he’s gone. It seems like his teams have done pretty good,” Jeter said. “But I’m not going to sit here and tell you how he’ll fit in the clubhouse ’cause he’s not in the clubhouse.”
Jeter said he has spoken to Pettitte this winter, but he wouldn’t reveal anything regarding the veteran left-hander’s plans. Jeter hopes the free-agent pitcher returns.
“I know he really enjoys playing here in New York,” Jeter said. “It means a lot to him being a Yankee.”
Jeter also praised new Yankees aces CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.
“[Burnett’s] stuff is as good as any pitcher in baseball that you face,” Jeter said.
The captain also didn’t sound overly worried about the Yanks’ offense.
“I think we’ve scored plenty of runs,” he said. “It’s just finding ways to shut teams down and I think we have guys that are capable of doing that now.”