Hanley Ramirez Carries Helmet Running To Third Base [VIDEO]
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Hanley Ramirez's "quirks" (to put it kindly) are becoming more glaring in light of the first baseman's recent struggles on the field. Hanley can never seem to wear a proper-sized helmet, constantly having to catch it as it flies off his head, and when he was hitting well and playing good defense at first base in the first month of the season it was just "Hanley Being Hanley."
Now that Ramirez has begun to show cracks in his foundation in recent weeks, behavior like his in this video are just strangely eccentric at best, and annoyingly unnecessary at worst. During Sunday's extra-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins, Ramirez stole second base with two down in the eighth inning. After an errant throw, Ramirez took off for third - but not before removing his helmet, which was surely about to pop off his head if he didn't grab it.
So, Ramirez has apparently decided that he'd be better off treating his helmet like a football than simply wearing a normal-sized helmet. It would be easy to put up with eccentricities like this if Ramirez were still performing at a high level.
Since homering on May 10, in a span of 33 days Ramirez has batted .231 with zero home runs and a slugging percentage of .288. His fielding at first base is also starting to slip, as Ramirez cost the Red Sox a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 28 with a missed catch on a throw to first, then made his second error of the season on Friday against the Twins with a bad throw.
As long as the Red Sox win games, it will be easier to put up with relatively innocuous moments like this. But the more Ramirez continues to struggle on the field, the less his actions off of it - and odd behavior with things like his helmet - will be forgiven.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
