Hanley Ramirez is more than just the average shortstop in the MLB. Since he entered the majors in 2006 with the Florida Marlins, he has experienced great success both defensively on the diamond, and offensively in the batting box. In his rookie year he usually led off first in the batting order. Hanley’s potent bat led all rookies in hits, runs scored and stolen bases, while also setting a team record with a total of seven lead off homeruns. Since the Florida Marlins do not receive as much national media attention as other, more popular MLB teams do, Hanley did not receive as much media attention as he would have if he was on another team.
However, this did not faze Hanley Ramirez at all as he continued hitting a whopping .332 batting average in his second major league year and was in the race for the National League Most Valuable Player. By his third season with the Marlins, coupled with all of his success, Hanley had become a fan favorite that was counted on to produce in clutch situations. He had showed what he was capable of, and now was expected to be a consistent MLB star player. This was the year that he signed the largest contract in the Florida Marlins history, a 6 year $70 million dollar deal. Many believe the Marlins gave Hanley this grandiose contract in order to ensure the construction of a new baseball stadium in 2012. It was in 2008 that Ramirez was voted to the starting shortstop position for the National League All Star for the first time.
Before the start of the 2009 poker30 season, Hanley played for his native team, the Dominican Republic, in the World Baseball Classic. It was also in the 2009 season when the Florida Marlins manager, Fredi Gonzalez, switched Hanley from lead-off hitter to the third spot in the batting order. This was due to Hanley’s ability to bat runs in on a consistent basis. In the regular season opener, against the Washington Nationals, Hanley recorded his first ever major league grand slam. To add even more to Hanley’s extremely impressive resume, he was voted for the second season in a row as the starting shortstop for the National League All Star team.
Now it is about 30 games into the 2010 season, and Hanley continues to do what he has always done, his batting average is currently .309 with an on base percentage of just under .400. He is in contention for his third straight year as the starting shortstop for the National League All Star team. The Florida Marlins have a history of trading away every good player, but Jeffrey Loria, the team owner, has stopped this trend by guaranteeing that Hanley Ramirez will be a Marlin for years to come. Hanley has shown that he is the real deal when it comes to the game of Baseball and will continue to be in the highlight reels as a Florida Marlin for years to come.