LOS ANGELES – Manny Ramirez is a hitting savant. He’s part jokester and part enigma. He’s known as a good teammate and a leader on the field, at least here at Dodger Stadium.
But a fighter?
“I don’t fight nobody,” Ramirez said. “I’m a lover. I’m not a fighter, I’m a lover.”
You wouldn’t know it by the way Ramirez charged in from left field and had to be restrained in the third inning of Game 3 of the NLCS to defend his teammates Sunday. The near-brawl was set off when Dodger starter Hiroki Kuroda threw a pitch over the head of Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino. The pair exchanged words when Victorino grounded out and Ramirez was soon in the middle of it all.
“We just want to play the game right,” Ramirez said. “We’re a team, and we need to protect each other.”
Ramirez says his actions stemmed from Game 2 in Philadelphia when Phillies starter Brett Myers hit Dodgers catcher Russell Martin with a pitch and also threw behind Ramirez. Martin was also hit by two pitches Sunday.
“We were just there to protect our team. We’re a team, and that’s what we do, but we’re not trying to hurt anybody out there,” Ramirez said. “Nobody said anything, we’re just mad about what happened in Philly. We should have taken care of that over there”
But what exactly did Ramirez say as he was being restrained? He’s not exactly sure.
“I was talking my Spanglish,” he said.
