When the Red Sox inducted their newest class into their Hall of Fame last month, Manny Ramirez was unable to attend the ceremony. Monday night, fashionably late, Ramirez was at Fenway to receive his honorary plaque and to throw out the first pitch.
Joined on the mound by former teammate David Ortiz, Ramirez received a hero's welcome as he strode to the mound and his smile could have lit up Fenway.
The prodigal slugger had returned.
"It was awesome,'' he said of the news of his Red Sox Hall of Fame induction. "I never thought this thing was going to happen, to call me and to come to Boston, and for all the things I went through, to receive me that way. ... But that's the way they receive you when you come home. This is my first home. I was here in 2000 through 2008, and I'm just happy to be back home.
"It made me feel like I'm back home. This is my home and Boston and those fans, they're the best. It doesn't matter how bad you do; they always remember you and they always support you.''
In addition to Ortiz, Ramirez renewed acquaintances with former teammate Kevin Millar, working in the NESN booth.
"We're like family,'' proclaimed Ramirez of his former teammate. "We've got each other's back. It's not only baseball. We always call each other. We don't talk every day, but we always keep in touch, to see how everyone's doing and stuff like that. When David was in the hospital, we were there. Everyone's like family.''
On the subject of family, Ramirez's son, Ortiz's son and Pedro Martinez's son are all playing for the Brockton Rox this summer, providing another thread between the former teammates.
"It's been awesome,'' he said of the experience. "I'm always there, throwing BP to them and what more can you ask? We play for 20 years and sometimes we didn't spend so much time with the family. So now is the time to be with the kids, supporting them no matter what and that's it.''
Ramirez watches the 2022 Red Sox and likes what he sees. He also knows that two cornerstone players -- Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers -- are fast approaching free agency and had some advice for the duo.
"You can't lie to yourself,'' he said. "Everybody knows, it's a business. Everybody knows. You guys know it, they know it. They're baseball players, and their careers are short. You've got to think: How much money do you really need to be happy? Where do you want to be? Because, I'll bet you (Albert) Pujols, when St. Louis offered him less than (the Angels), I bet he if he would have known what was going to happen, he would have stayed and taken less in St. Louis.
"So, I think everything's going to come down to: how much money do you need? They're great players and everybody knows they deserve to get paid. But whatever they do, we've got to support them and respect their choices. Because it's a business.''
Ramirez was traded at the deadline in 2008 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and was asked if he wish he could have finished his career in Boston.
"I wish, I wish,'' he said, "but everything worked for good. Everything in my life is working so good. Sometimes when I'm back home, and I see all the mistakes that I (made here), all the suspensions and all that kind of stuff, I regret it a little bit. But back in my house, I say, 'Man, if these things didn't happen to be, I wouldn't really value my family, my kids, my wife. Because everything was so good. I was on top of the game, I was making so much money.
"But now I understand -- the money's not everything. Money doesn't make you happy. I'm not glad that that happened, but everything has turned out for good because I still have my family and my kids. I would give anything I have to keep my family. So I think everything worked for good.''
When Ortiz is inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown next month, Ramirez will be there, celebrating his friend's honor. Ramirez himself has the numbers to warrant election, but his PED use has prevented him from gaining induction.
"I don't re-think that, because I know what I did, it worked for good, for my life,'' he said, "to appreciate more my family and my kids. You know what I mean? I'd rather give (up) the Hall of Fame than give (up) my family, my kids. That's me. My family and my kids are going to give me more joy than being in the Hall of Fame. Every time I'm watching my kid and throwing BP to my kids, it makes me feel like when I hit a home run against Francisco Rodriguez (to win a playoff game at Fenway). That's how I feel when I'm working with those kids. That's priceless.
"David did it right. I made some mistakes, but those mistakes are helping me be a better person and being in the great spot that I'm in right now.''