The Official Site of Hanley Ramirez

Tue, Jun 16th 2009, 11:05

Hanley Ramirez happy to return to Fenway Park

Hanley Ramirez wore a purple dress the day he made his biggest hit for the Boston Red Sox.

Called up from Class AA Portland in September 2005, the can’t-miss kid from Boston’s farm system struck out in his only two at-bats for the Red Sox.

But on a team flight to Boston, Ramirez and two other newcomers made a memorable impression: As part of a rookie hazing ritual, they dressed up as stewardesses.

Boston slugger David Ortiz, a mentor to Ramirez, loved the outfit.

“I remember Big Papi grabbing my arm (and walking me down the aisle) like we we’re gonna get married,” Ramirez said.

His marriage to the Red Sox didn’t last long. The shortstop was traded two months later to the Marlins with right-hander Anibal Sanchez in the blockbuster deal that sent right-hander Josh Beckett and third baseman Mike Lowell to Boston.

Beckett helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2007, Lowell was named MVP of that series, Sanchez threw a no-hitter for the Marlins in 2006 and Ramirez has blossomed into one of the top players in the game.

The Marlins tonight open a three-game series at Fenway Park, Ramirez’s first appearance there since the trade.

“I thought it was a fair deal for both sides because they got Hanley and Hanley turned into a monster,” said Toronto designated hitter Kevin Millar, who played for Boston when Ramirez came up.

Ramirez has built an impressive résumé: 2006 National League rookie of the year, an All-Star start in 2008 and a .310 career batting average. He averaged 26 home runs and 69 RBI in his first three seasons with the Marlins.

Ramirez, 25, parlayed those numbers into a six-year, $70 million contract last May. The lengthy deal sets him up as the centerpiece of a team that will move into a new stadium in 2012.

“Good for him,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said when Ramirez got the deal. “He got good fast.”

Real fast. Although he was considered a top prospect, Ramirez didn’t produce glittering numbers in his last full season in the Red Sox farm system. He hit .271 for Portland with seven home runs.

“I would like to ask him, ‘How did you become so good?’ “ said Millar, a career .270 hitter after batting .306 in the minors. “ ‘Teach me. What did I miss?’ It’s intriguing to me. He has turned into the best offensive shortstop in that division.”

Ramirez, only 21 when he was traded, seemed sure that he would find success in the majors.

“He was a little cocky. He was going to go up and be a star,” Red Sox reliever Manny Delcarmen, who played with Ramirez in Portland, told The Boston Herald in May 2008. “... You could tell he was, ‘I’m the best player on the team and I’m going to get my shot.’ He had that attitude about him and he backed it up.

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