The Official Site of Hanley Ramirez

Wed, Mar 25th 2009, 10:49

USA Today: Marlins Ramirez is no fantasy; he's a real big deal

Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez came up with a doozy for owners of fantasy teams this spring: switching shortstop Hanley Ramirez from leadoff to third in the lineup.

Already one of the most coveted fantasy picks in baseball, Ramirez now will be in position to drive in more runs while still picking up a high number of stolen bases — he had 35 along with 33 homers last season — as Gonzalez vows to continue giving him chances to run.

The fantasy possibilities are virtually endless, and the real-life prospects don’t look so bad either.

“This guy can hit you .300, 30 home runs, with the possibility of stealing some bases and driving in runs,” Gonzalez says. “Him in the middle of that lineup is going to be a force, and it balances the lineup.”

The move is part of the Marlins’ effort to make the most of their signature player, the one the usually frugal franchise committed to as its centerpiece when it awarded him a six-year, $70 million contract in May.

There were plenty of valid reasons for that decision:

•At 25, Ramirez has become one of the game’s most dynamic players while playing a premium position.

•In the Marlins’ continued pursuit of a new ballpark, signing Ramirez to a long-term deal showed a financial commitment the club had not made in the past with popular players such as Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

•Ramirez, who can be charming and charismatic, provides the Marlins a showcase to lure South Florida’s seemingly baseball-averse population. With an average crowd of 16,482 a game, Florida ranked last in attendance in the majors last season, its third year in a row bringing up the rear.

“Hanley can do things on a baseball field that many players can’t. He can do it all,” general manager Larry Beinfest says. “He’s got that million-dollar smile, and he’s an intelligent guy, so he appeals to a lot of people. That’s part of the package.”

HIS APPROACH TO switching to third in the lineup is pretty relaxed, even though he’s a career .313 hitter at leadoff, .286 elsewhere. Last year he batted .268 with one homer and four RBI in 16 games in the No. 3 hole and overall had a .239 average with runners in scoring position.

On the other hand, he went 10-for-20 batting third as the Marlins enjoyed a seven-game winning streak in early May. And considering Ramirez’s home run output has increased every season from 17 to 29 to 33, the move was bound to happen.

“It’s not a big deal, just a chance for more RBI,” Ramirez says. “People tend to make too much of it.”

Still, he consulted about batting third with Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, a pretty good source on matters related to hitting.

His advice?

“I told him to use the whole field and try to hit the ball down the middle,” Pujols says. “In those situations (with runners in scoring position), I try to stay inside the ball. I don’t worry about whether the runner is on first or third.

“He’s going to be fine hitting third. He’s got the strength and the talent. He just needs to avoid putting pressure on himself and realize sometimes they’re not going to pitch to him, so he should just take his walk.”

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