Hanley Ramirez, back on track or aberration?

I've been trying to decide how I feel on this and felt that I'd throw the question out there.

From 2006-2009 Hanley was one of the best players in baseball.


In 2010 he had a pretty solid, albeit weaker season. In 2011 he missed a lot time, and in 2012 he was pretty pedestrian. Then he was traded to the Dodgers.

This season, after missing some time, his numbers have been insane:


The question is, has he gotten back on track after a derailment or is this year an aberration because if we assume the former, he still has a shot of being a HOF caliber player, whereas if we assume this is just an aberration and his best days are long past, he'll wind up in the Nomar Garciaparra category of great players who could not sustain it for all that long.

A lot of his resurgence this season might have a lot to do with amazing chemstry and the newly supercharged and hot Dodgers clubhouse

With Hanley, his attitude is everything. Being on a winning team probably helps.

It's all about health - if he is relatively healthy, he'll put up the numbers.

At 30, his better years are probably behind him but I wouldn't be surprised if he ages like an Adrian Beltre or a Catlos Beltran - again it's just about taking care of his body.

My opinion is he's back on track. I seem to recall Kevin Kennedy on DodgerTalk saying that Ramirez worked on things for the WBC and those changes have made him a much better player this year than in his more down years.

and, I concur with other postings that attitude/dodgers great run probably helps also in keeping him motivated to be a better hitter rather than just rely on the mechanical adjustments he's made.

Lars said:

It's all about health - if he is relatively healthy, he'll put up the numbers.

At 30, his better years are probably behind him but I wouldn't be surprised if he ages like an Adrian Beltre or a Catlos Beltran - again it's just about taking care of his body.

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It's not ~all about health. He has long been a whiny pompous ass and if he's in an environment where he can shine and has good support players around him, he is unstoppable.

But Puig is the future face of the franchise for now...I guarantee Hanley will either not be on the Dodgers at the end of 2014 because: he will realize the spotlight isnt on him and will greatly underproduce for the money hes getting paid, or; he will get mad that he's not the star and demands a trade.

Although, I hope since hes 29 or 30 now that he will be more mature than that....but then again, Barry Bonds....

Hanley's back on track.
As long as he's healthy and happy, he's a Hall of Fame calibur player.
He's hitting just like he did in his prime and is playing with a smile on his face. And he's still relatively young.
I hope the Dodgers sign him long-term.

Austin said:

Hanley's back on track.
As long as he's healthy and happy, he's a Hall of Fame calibur player.
He's hitting just like he did in his prime and is playing with a smile on his face. And he's still relatively young.
I hope the Dodgers sign him long-term.

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I will say it now, the Dodgers, or whatever team signs him for big bucks will regret it, deeply. He has attitude problems, he has effort problems, and he was extremely mediocre for 3 years. 70 games should NOT sway you to pay this clown.

ballerskrip said:

I will say it now, the Dodgers, or whatever team signs him for big bucks will regret it, deeply. He has attitude problems, he has effort problems, and he was extremely mediocre for 3 years. 70 games should NOT sway you to pay this clown.

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With the way people underrate shortstops, even if he reverts to 2012 hanley he will still be worth the money. If I'm the dodgers I might even extend him for 3 years at the end of this season and not wait for his price to rise at the end of next season. At his worst he's an above average hitting shortstop who's a star on the basepaths and is mediocre in the field. That's still an excellent player considering the lack of quality shortstops in baseball. At his best he is an all around superstar/mvp candidate. It's a win win assuming the price I'm thinking is plausible. 3 years 45 million? I don't think I'd go too much over that though.

RyanHowardCollector6 said:

With the way people underrate shortstops, even if he reverts to 2012 hanley he will still be worth the money. If I'm the dodgers I might even extend him for 3 years at the end of this season and not wait for his price to rise at the end of next season. At his worst he's an above average hitting shortstop who's a star on the basepaths and is mediocre in the field. That's still an excellent player considering the lack of quality shortstops in baseball. At his best he is an all around superstar/mvp candidate. It's a win win assuming the price I'm thinking is plausible. 3 years 45 million? I don't think I'd go too much over that though.

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Your point is well made, Hanley is already the 2nd highest paid SS in the league. Look at some of these other guys, the lack of production, yet their massive salaries:

Rollins - $11 million
Drew - $9.5 million
Aybar - $8.75 million
Furcal - $8.5 million
Alexei - $7 million

The only studs out there that are really worth the $ in my eyes are Tulo and Jose Reyes, and they both have massive injury question marks.

ballerskrip said:

Your point is well made, Hanley is already the 2nd highest paid SS in the league. Look at some of these other guys, the lack of production, yet their massive salaries:

Rollins - $11 million
Drew - $9.5 million
Aybar - $8.75 million
Furcal - $8.5 million
Alexei - $7 million

The only studs out there that are really worth the $ in my eyes are Tulo and Jose Reyes, and they both have massive injury question marks.

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They both have massive contracts as well. Tulo is a monster when healthy, but he's signed until 2020 who knows what could happen between now and then? The Rockies certainly don't have much money to throw around. It would be a pretty low risk move for a team like the dodgers to offer a 3 year/45 deal.

I think he is back and very happy. That is the big key he is happy.

nosterbor said:

I think he is back and very happy. That is the big key he is happy.

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The scary thing is, that when you sign him to a 6 year $100 million dollar deal, and he becomes unhappy in year 2, then what?

ballerskrip said:

The scary thing is, that when you sign him to a 6 year $100 million dollar deal, and he becomes unhappy in year 2, then what?

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Front load a long term contract or give him a smaller one