Many Ramirez, 5 games into his first season with Tampa Bay, abruptly retired today. He had been informed by Major League Baseball that he had failed a second drug test for PEDs. He already served a 50 game suspension for a first offense a couple years ago with the Dodgers. A second offense would be a 100 game suspension. At the age of 38 he decided he might as well retire.
Manny retires with 55 career home runs. His On base + Slugging Percentage (OPS) of 154 trails only Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio by 1 point as the highest values for a right handed hitting outfielder in history.
His overall slugging percentage is 9th overall in baseball history. But he's also the only player so far to test positive for PEDs on 2 different occasions. Neifi Perez had 3 drug tests failed, the 3rd of which ended his Detroit Tigers career, but those were for amphetamines.
That black mark I think makes his Hall of Fame enshrinement very unlikely. Raphael Palmero had 3000 hits and 5000+ home run and has barely stayed on the ballot. Mark McGwire is nowhere near close to election either.
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