‘Bro, I love the game’: How Manny Ramirez is changing the face of Australian baseball

Anonymity is a blessing for Manny Ramirez, the Boston Red Sox legend who you might spot roaming the streets of Sydney over the summer.

"When you’re in, it’s hard to get out. But getting in ... it’s frustrating," says Sydney Blue Sox owner Adam Dobb. "From juniors all the way through to [the top] level, the game doesn’t have the awareness that the traditional Australian sports have."Getty Dobb initially thought he was the victim of a prank when an email lobbed in his inbox from Ramirez’s agent, expressing interest in a stint in Australia. "I actually remember spending the first few emails rolling my eyes as I hit send - like, I'll play the game," he says.

"A Manny per team wouldn’t be the worst model, if you’re sitting in my shoes, to help grow the game in this country. We’re probably going to get more out of this than he does." "I’ve got a committed group of owners ... we don’t get the profile, but we're on a path and I'm very confident we can emerge out of this strongly. We are genuinely looking at trying to make 10 years of growth happen in 18 months - this season and next season. Despite COVID’s challenges, I actually think we can."

Ramirez has had to skip some corporate commitments in Sydney because they clashed with his gym and yoga time. He is vigilant with his diet, and even though his last MLB game was nine years ago, he has never stopped swinging.

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