I Found Manny Ramirez at Disneyland

I thought I'd take time out from vacation to check in from the road...

Heidi scoffed on Friday when I said that I'd be hanging with Manny Ramirez at Disneyland while on vacation in California! I tried to tell her that Manny and I were tight..but she just rolled her eyes.

Oh thee of little faith.

Less than 3 hours after entering Disneyland on Sunday...I ran smack dab into Manny as he left the Soaring California. I couldn't believe my eyes...there he was sporting his brand new LA Dodger colors...a big 99 on his back...walking with his agent, taking in all of the wonderful attractions offered at Disneyland and California Adventure.

He was shorter than I thought he'd be...and where were those trademark dreads? Hmmm...I guess Joe Torre must have made him cut them off already. As I got closer, and called out his name, he turned and gave me that famous Manny grin...

It was then that I realized that I'd been hoodwinked!

That wasn't Manny...it was a 10 year old kid wearing Manny's new Dodgers shirt...well, that explains where his dreads went! And the agent? That was the kids dad...oh man...whatta a rip off!

Although I didn't see the real Manny, I can tell you that he is alive and well in Los Angeles. The entire city is caught up in Mannymania...they absolutely LOVE the guy.

The kid and his dad went on to tell me that they had been at the game the night before when Manny got his first home run. You could hear the excitement in the voices as they described how he came to the plate, the sound the bat made when it struck the ball, and how cool Manny glided around the bases.



They also apologized. They know that their teams gain was our teams loss. And they weren't the only ones who offered up condolences.

As I walked around the park with my family, sporting my new David Ortiz T-shirt, I was met with chants of Go Sox, and Yeaaah! Boston. But most people simply said, Hey, sorry about Manny.

My response...yeah me too.

On a funny note...after a full day of chants and shout outs for the world champs I had kind of gotten used to it...but I wasn't prepared for what happened as I was leaving the park the first day.

Walking with my youngest son (he was wearing his Coco Crisp shirt)...I could hear a group of people talking softly. Occasionally I'd hear David Ortiz name, or someone whisper Red Sox...when I turned to see who was following me...I was met with a group of about 15 Japanese tourist being led through Disneyland by a tour guide.

As I caught their eye they all smiled, gave the thumbs up, and said Ohhh Red Sox...Dice K!

I almost fell over laughing! I smiled back, gave them the thumbs up and said Yeah! Dice K!

As we walked out the front gate, my son asked me if maybe hose tourist thought that he was really Coco and that I was Big Papi! I told him probably...after all I thought I'd spotted Manny Ramirez just a few hours earlier!

I guess when we talk about Red Sox Nation it's not too far of a stretch.