While it certainly seems like MLB has made progress to embrace the personality of its players, there will always be people out there who want baseball players to act like emotionless robots.
And oh man, former MLB player Jeff Frye went to some wild lengths to make that argument this week.
Manny Ramirez’s son, Lucas, had himself a weekend to remember at the plate in the 2023 World Wood Bat Association (WWBA) tournament in Georgia where he hit a walk-off home run to send his travel team to the championship game. For a high school player, it’s a huge moment. And you better believe that Lucas — a Tennessee commit — had every right to celebrate the walk-off shot.
Lucas Ramirez KNEW he got all of this WALK-OFF đź’Ł@Lucas_Ramirez24 x #WWBA pic.twitter.com/KRjwy7OnkG
— Perfect Game USA (@PerfectGameUSA) July 23, 2023
Yet, Frye saw footage of Lucas rounding the bases and thought the home run celebration was worth blasting the young player over. On top of that, Frye — who is also an MLBPA agent — argued that Lucas’ father would never do that.
Thanks @MLB for encouraging kids to act foolishly on a baseball field. I’m sure this young man has a bright future but I played against his dad who was a great hitter and I never saw him do this. #shegone #letthekidsplay @@MLBPAA @MLBNetwork @WillClark22 @TheRealJHair pic.twitter.com/4YKutJGFKO
— Fryedaddy (@shegone03) July 24, 2023
Again, Lucas’ father is Manny Ramirez. The same Manny Ramirez who has an entire montage of admiring home runs.
It’s one thing to have a problem with bat flips. It’s another to completely rewrite history while criticizing a youth baseball player. It was a massive home run for Lucas, and baseball needs more of that enthusiasm.
Fans honestly couldn’t believe that Frye managed to come up with such a terrible take.