Manny Ramirez I am at a loss for words. The only thing that separates you and Barry Bonds is your personality, locker room and media relationships. As a fan of baseball and of yours my whole life, It hurts me to say that I will feel no pity for you as you will no doubt walk with your head down in remorse and have to all but wave goodbye to cooperstown as your chances at the Hall of Fame are at a lower percent than the years you mostly likely played the game clean. Your unique traits of a humorously funny defender, charisma untouched by any other, and one of the best right handed hitters of all time, will sadly only save you from a small amount of media and fan criticism instead of being etched into stone underneath your name and statue outside of Fenway Park.
I can only hope that when you talk to Barry, Mark, Sammy and find out where Palmeiro has been hiding, that you all sit down and truly realize the impact that you have had on this wonderful game that many love around the world. But maybe the " dark cloud " that you and the many others have casted upon my generation and the ones after me can actually be viewed as a positive. The young players of today can look at you and learn that the ends dont always justify the means. Thanks to you we have learned that hard work, dedication, god given talent, and always doing our best may not make us a 12 time All-Star and 2 time World Series Champion with over 550 home runs, but it will make us respected, self confident, and honest to those who have trusted us and looked up to us as role models when we reach our retirement.
Thanks to the examples of you and the others mentioned above, I have learned myself and will be able to teach my children that; when your career and life are all said and done, its not money and fame that make your life wealthy. It is your good name and the love and respect from your family, friends, and others you have touched, that will have made you a rich man.
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