Manny Ramirez isn't playing in Major League Baseball anymore, and has instead taken his talents all the way to Taiwan. Whatever you think of Manny, it's kind of nifty that, at 41 years old, he's so intent on continuing to play baseball that he left not only the continent he's spent his career in, but the hemisphere, too.
On Wednesday, Ramirez hit his first home run with the EDA Rhinos, which, according to Taiwanese media by way of Baseball America's Ben Badler, was homer 7,000 for the Chinese Professional Baseball League of Taiwan. Even better, it came in front of a record crowd of 12,000. Put all this together, and you can understand the announcer's excitement at seeing Manny go yard:
Dead center, and on a pitch that came in lower than his knees. Manny might not still have it against MLB competition, but he's still got something to offer the world of professional baseball.
If you're keeping score at home, that's home run number 556 for Ramirez in his career, at least in terms of major league dingers. Something tells me he won't be catching up to his MLB number, even if Taiwan turns out to be a breeze for him. Really, though, it's probably a good thing if someone like Ramirez can come in and do well. It gives fans even more reason to come to games, and makes the organization that much better known internationally. Plus, we'll get more homer calls like this one.