Manny Ramirez Jr. knows the reaction his name will elicit when he comes to bat on the road this summer for the Victoria HarbourCats in the West Coast League.
“It’s a blessing and a curse. I have learned how to deal with it. I use it as fuel,” said the son of former Major League Baseball star Manny Ramirez, the 2004 World Series MVP, who hit 555 career home runs in MLB.
“Pressure is a privilege. The chirping [of opposing fans and dugouts] gets me locked in.”
The reception will be much warmer at Royal Athletic Park.
Two of the elder Ramirez’s sons, Manny Jr. and Lucas, have signed to play for the HarbourCats for the 2024 season in the summer-collegiate WCL. Both are hard-hitting outfielders. Six-foot-three, 200-pound Manny Jr., 21, leads East Los Angeles College with three home runs, 18 RBIs, nine doubles and 14 walks in 20 games. The prize prospect is Lucas, 18, who is six-foot-three and 200 pounds in high school and committed to the NCAA powerhouse University of Tennessee Volunteers and expected to go high in the 2024 MLB draft.
“Lucas deserves every bit of draft notice he is getting,” said brother Manny Jr., in a Zoom media call Thursday.
“He is one of the best hitters in the draft and one of the top-five high-school players. The level he is at is incredible.”
Those genes seem to have grown just right in this family tree. Manny Jr. remembers as a young kid hanging around the Boston Red Sox clubhouse. Asked what advice his dad has given him, the son said: “Just to go out there and have fun. Who cares what happens. Who cares what happened yesterday. Every day is a new day.”
The elder Ramirez was known for his gregariousness on and off the diamond with “Manny being Manny” becoming an expression in baseball.
“A lot of people didn’t see the hard work that came with that,” said Manny Jr.
“My dad was not just a jokester. He was a great teammate and always there for his teammates.”
That has rubbed off on the next generation with Manny Jr. a personable young man but one with a stern career mission.
“I like to have fun but once I cross the white line [onto the diamond], it’s all business,” said Manny Jr.
He’s coming to the right place. The HarbourCats were WCL finalists last season behind the league champion Corvallis Knights. Five HarbourCats alumni are playing or have played in the MLB in the nine years of franchise history, including current Chicago White Sox slugger Andrew Vaughn and Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta. There were 37 WCL alumni on MLB opening-day rosters this year. A total of 62 WCL alumni appeared in MLB games last season.
“Victoria seems like a fun place to play for the summer,” said Manny Jr.
“I am very excited to play for a great coach like Todd Haney and keep the winning going. I want to develop and mature over the summer playing for Victoria.”
The entire Ramirez family, including Manny Sr., are planning to spend the summer on the Island watching Manny Jr. and Lucas play. Jim Swanson, managing partner of the group that owns the HarbourCats, said it will not be a surprise to see Manny Sr. helping out this season with instruction during practices and games.
The HarbourCats open the 2024 WCL season May 31 in Kamloops against the NorthPaws. The home opener at Royal Athletic Park is June 7 against the Wenatchee AppleSox.
The Nanaimo NightOwls open May 31 in Kelowna against the Falcons. The first home game at Serauxmen Stadium is June 4 against the Cowlitz Black Bears.
