Manny being Manny didn’t only occur on the field. The Red Sox legend had plenty of quirks and tricks up his sleeve off the field as well.
Former teammate Sean Casey joined Audacy’s The Bradfo Sho podcast to discuss David Ortiz’s induction into the Hall of Fame, but it wouldn’t be right if he didn’t include a Manny Ramirez story, too.
“Right before Manny got traded we were out playing in Oakland, and me, Alex Cora, and Manny went to dinner right on the water,” Casey said (17:30 in player above). “We get the seafood platter. You know, we go all out. Couple bottles of wine, blah blah blah, we’re having a good time. We’re having fun.”
Manny spent seven-and-a-half seasons with the Red Sox before being dealt to the Dodgers at the 2008 trade deadline. He had an incredible start in LA, mashing 17 home runs in just 53 games while batting .396 with a 1.232 OPS. And he was paid well.
“I remember turning to Alex and going ‘This is gonna be a pretty big bill I think,’ he’s like ‘Yeah, but we’re with Manny, he’s making like $18 million a year.’ We’re making peanuts at the time, we’re like the two bench players just coming up the rear, leaning on the heavy hitters,” Casey said.
“Manny at the end of the meal is like ‘Hey guys, I’ll be back, I just gotta go to the bathroom.’ Fifteen minutes later I’m like ‘Is he dropping a bomb in there or something? Do we need to call 9-1-1? Did he drown in the toilet?’ Turns out Manny got a cab and left me and Alex,” Casey laughed.
Casey was a newcomer to Boston, spending his final MLB season with the Red Sox in 2008. Cora, who is currently the Red Sox manager was in his fourth and final season in Boston as a player. Neither player appeared in more than 75 games that season.
“I wanna say it was like two grand. I was like ‘You gotta be kidding me. Freakin’ Manny’s pulling an A-ball trick back in the day when you used to go with the veterans and head on out.’ He left me and Cora will the bill and took a cab back. We’re like ‘Manny, what the hell happened?’”
“The next day I’m like ‘Dude, hey what happened with the bill last night? I thought you were going to the bathroom.’ He’s like ‘Aw, I had to get back to the hotel.’ I’m like ‘For what?’” Casey chuckled.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram