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Cubs president Theo Epstein, who ran baseball operations in
Boston when Ramirez starred for the Red Sox, said the ex-player
will spend most of spring training with the Cubs and work with
the team's major and minor league hitters during the season.
Ramirez, 42, joined the Cubs organization last season as a
player-coach at Triple-A Iowa and the major league team was
impressed by his impact.
"Manny got rave reviews from everybody he worked with (at Iowa),
from the young hitters he helped influence to the coaches who he
spent a lot of time around," Epstein said.
"He was very open and honest with guys about what not to do from
his past and lessons he learned along the way. He was a huge
asset, and we were really hopeful of the possibility of bringing
him back."
Ramirez, who slugged 555 home runs with a career batting average
of .312 in 19 years in the majors, was twice a World Series
champion with the Red Sox and the 2004 Fall Classic MVP.
Epstein said Ramirez, whose sometimes lackadaisical attitude in
his playing days spawned the phrase, "just Manny being Manny,"
has matured.
"In Manny's case, the real changes he made in his life -- his
habits, his outlook, his behavior, taking more responsibility
and accountability for things he did -- made us interested in
the first place," the Cubs executive said.
The Cubs also announced on Tuesday they have added another
former Red Sox player, Kevin Youkilis, 35, as a part-time
scouting and player development consultant.
(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)
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