Manny Ramirez, who is now 44 years old, clearly can’t quit baseball. Last I knew, Manny was some sort of “coach” for the Chicago Cubs and was riding the waves of his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot.
However, it was announced overnight (the morning in Japan) that Manny will play in Japan for the Kochi Fighting Dogs, who are part of an independent league that is unaffiliated with NPB.
It stands to reason that this is more of a passion project than another of Manny’s legendary comeback attempts, the most recent of which was a stint as a player-coach for the Triple A Iowa Cubs. Prior to his time with the Cubs, Manny spent the 2013 season in Taiwan with the EDA Rhinos.
Honestly, what else is there to say, other than exactly what you’d expect us to say about Manny playing for a random independent Japanese team in his mid-forties: Manny is still Manny and we hope he smashes a few dingers.