Rays fans are already booing Manny Ramirez

Tampa Bay is 0-4, Manny Ramirez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts yesterday to make him 1-for-16 on the season, and Rays fans are already booing the 39-year-old designated hitter.

Manager Joe Maddon described the situation as “very unfair” while adding that the fans should know “this man really cares” and “the last thing I want him to do is feel like he has to carry us.”

B.J. Upton called the booing “unbelievable” and went on to say:

Here’s a man who has had an unbelievable career. This game is not easy. His start obviously hasn’t been what people wanted it to be. But if everybody could do it, everybody in America would be playing right now. They’re not and he’s done it for 16 years. So that bothered me a little bit. Because I think if you’re a true baseball fan, you know what type of player he is and the type of damage he can do. It’s way too long of a season to be booing somebody right now. That I do not understand, not one bit.

I tend to agree. Ramirez is certainly a flawed person, but for a new fan base to boo him four games into his time with the team seems absurd, particularly since he was a shrewd free agent signing for just $2 million in guaranteed money and is crucial to the Rays’ success this season.

Boo him if he fails to hustle or disrespects Maddon or shows up late for a game, but for a bad first week at a new job? What purpose does that serve, exactly?