Manny Ramirez Explains Failure to Win World Series With Cleveland

The enigmatic former slugger offered a blunt reason why Cleveland didn’t capture a championship during the 1990s.

Manny Ramirez was inducted into the Guardians’ Hall of Fame on Saturday for his seven-plus-year stint with the franchise. And at the event, the 12-time All-Star was asked about his time with Cleveland and the disappointment of not winning a World Series. 

Ramirez gave his take on why his Cleveland teams, which earned five consecutive playoff berths from 1995 through ’99, were never able to win a World Series—and he was blunt with his answer. 

“I think we should have won it, but we had no pitching,” he said, according to The Athletic. 

His candor is valid. He played for Cleveland from 1993 to 2000, and during that time, the team only finished with an ERA below 4.00 once, in 1995. Not by coincidence, that was the same year the team reached the World Series but lost to the Braves in six games. Cleveland also reached the World Series in ’97 but lost to the Marlins in seven games.

Ramirez eventually was able to win two World Series rings with the Red Sox. He signed with Boston ahead of the 2001 season and went on to win it all in ’04 and ’07. He was named World Series MVP for his performance in ’04 and was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2022.