Manny's been Manny from the beginning

Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez hammered a home run to center field Tuesday night and immediately threw both arms up in celebration. He'd just narrowed the Indians' lead to four runs -- generally not a time to rejoice.

<p class="MsoNormal">Indians players and fans were perturbed. Smiles, however fleeting, likely flashed across the faces of those who knew Ramirez when he played for the 1993 Canton-Akron Indians.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Canton days predate "Manny being Manny," the catch-all phrase that's been coined to describe Ramirez's oddball moments. Back then, two years before his first 30 home run season with Cleveland, the typical reaction to one of his pure-Manny moments was, "That's just Manny."

<p class="MsoNormal">The powerful swing. The aloof nature. The unpredictability. It was all there in 1993 when a 20-year-old Ramirez arrived in Canton.

<p class="MsoNormal">He played 89 games here, hitting .340 with 17 home runs and 79 RBIs. Those who knew him then recall a playful, quiet man-child with remarkable talent and tremendous drive.

<p class="MsoNormal">That's just Manny

<p class="MsoNormal">There are stories of Red Sox icon Ted Williams discarding bats that were a fraction of an ounce off from what he wanted.

<p class="MsoNormal">That stuff didn't matter to Ramirez.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He would walk by and look at someone's bat and say, 'I like that color,'" said John Rinaldi, director of player facilities for the 1993 Canton-Akron team. "He'd grab it and go up and hit a home run with it."

<p class="MsoNormal">If Ramirez saw something he liked in somebody's locker -- gloves, shoes, pants, socks -- he'd take that as well.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He would literally put the shirt on and wear it home," said former Canton-Akron Indians manager Brian Graham. "You hid your clothes. He would seriously just take your glove and go out and play with it."

<p class="MsoNormal">Even when it came to his equipment, it could get a little bizarre.

<p class="MsoNormal">Rinaldi, now the Canton City Schools' board president, said Ramirez once had a $2,000 credit with the Louisville Slugger bat company and wanted Rinaldi to put it toward a shipment of black 34 inch, 31 1/2 ounce bats.

<p class="MsoNormal">Rinaldi ordered the bats but a company rep called -- they needed money.

<p class="MsoNormal">It turns out Ramirez had put the $2,000 credit toward six leather jackets.

<p class="MsoNormal">Like others who recall these potentially infuriating Ramirez stories, Rinaldi does it with love. Ramirez never meant anyone harm.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He was like a little kid," Rinaldi said.

<p class="MsoNormal">The hitter

<p class="MsoNormal">Ramirez was drafted by Cleveland in 1991 and was with the organization through 2000. At times, he may act juvenile, but his skill has never been doubted.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Manny was a kid but an extremely talented one," Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro, the organization's director of player development in 1993, wrote in an e-mail.

<p class="MsoNormal">He was what you would expect, Shapiro wrote, from any young man "who had not spent much time outside of New York City or the Dominican Republic -- except that when he got in the batters box, he was a man. His talent was obvious, beyond his years and elite."

<p class="MsoNormal">But Ramirez, whose family moved to New York from the Dominican Republic when he was 13, didn't arrive in Canton as a finished product.

<p class="MsoNormal">He was "certainly not polished, and his offense was way ahead of the rest of his game," Graham said. "But his work ethic was tremendous.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He's one of the few guys that I either managed or coached in the minor or big leagues who would spend hours upon hours in the video room, batting cage, hitting off tees.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He did things to the extreme more so than a lot of the other great players."

<p class="MsoNormal">Graham was astounded by Ramirez's ability to drive the ball to right field and set up pitchers to throw what he wanted.

<p class="MsoNormal">Personality-wise, Graham said, "he was just Manny. Hitting might be the only thing he takes serious."

<p class="MsoNormal">The friend

<p class="MsoNormal">Jay Jones, 80, of North Canton, was a Canton-Akron Indians booster in 1993.

<p class="MsoNormal">One of his duties was to haul the players to and from Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium. During a two-week span, until Ramirez's BMW arrived, Jones drove Ramirez.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He's a likable chap, I'll tell you," Jones said, adding that Ramirez always was jovial.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jones still imitates Ramirez's broken spurts of English and laughs the way a proud parent does when relaying something adorable his child has done.

<p class="MsoNormal">In the times he's seen Ramirez since the Canton days, Jones said Ramirez has always been kind. If Jones isn't with his grandson, Ramirez asks, "Where Little J? Why you no bring Little J?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"I still say if I called Manny and said, 'I'm in trouble. I need 500 bucks,' he'd give it to me," Jones said. "I'm positive. He's just that kind of guy."

<p class="MsoNormal">And he still is. Just this season, Ramirez posed with his neighbor's barbecue grill for an ad on eBay -- just so the guy could earn some extra bucks.

<p class="MsoNormal">When Ramirez was promoted to Triple-A Charlotte during the 1993 season, he forgot his wallet, boom box and other items in Canton. Ramirez's new team had an upcoming trip to Toledo, so Jones told Ramirez he'd deliver the items. Jones did as he said, then gave Ramirez a ride to the ballpark.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ramirez said he'd leave tickets so Jones could catch the game, too.

<p class="MsoNormal">"No tickets. He forgot, but that's Manny," Jones said. "He don't have a care in the world."

<p class="MsoNormal">Reach Repository writer Joseph Gartrell at (330) 580-8562 or by e-mail at joe.gartrell@cantonrep.com