HOUSTON (AP) — Manny Ramirez hit plenty of home runs in his 19-year major league career — 555, to be exact.
On Friday night at Daikin Park, the 12-time All-Star relished watching someone else go yard when his son Lucas Ramirez hit two homers for Brazil against the United States in the World Baseball Classic.
Lucas Ramirez hit a leadoff homer, then added another solo shot in the eighth inning.
Like father, like son.
The 20-year-old sent Logan Webb’s second pitch into the seats in right field to cut the Americans’ lead to 2-1 after Aaron Judge hit a two-run shot in the top of the inning. Ramirez’s blast in the eighth off Gabe Speier got Brazil within 8-5.
“I was looking forward for him to do something special,” Manny Ramirez told The Associated Press after his son’s first homer. “So, he’s been working so hard all year round and I’m proud of him.”
Lucas Ramirez is playing for Brazil because his mother, Juliana Ramirez, was born and raised in Sao Paulo. She was at the ballpark Friday night and beamed after the leadoff homer.
“This is the best day ever of my life, to be honest,” Lucas Ramirez said. “My mom doesn’t really make it to all of the games because she is back home with my brother. My dad is at most of the games. I’m just really thankful that my family is here was to watch me play.”
The younger Ramirez was a 17th-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels in the 2024 amateur draft and he spent last season playing in class A, batting .266 with three homers, 30 RBIs and six stolen bases.
He also played for Brazil in the 2026 WBC qualifiers and went 5 for 13.
He said he’d been visualizing hitting a home run on his first at-bat in the WBC since the qualifiers.
“It is crazy it actually happened,” he said. “For five months, every time before I go to bed, after I pray, I visualized it. And it happened. That’s why, I don’t know if you saw me running the bases, I said: ‘I told you,’ because I visualized it and it happened.”
Lucas Ramirez said he uses visualization a lot to deal with the pressure of having a famous father.
“Having Manny Ramirez as my father, it’s obviously a good thing and a bad thing,” he said. “It’s a little harder, everybody expects so much. That’s why maybe I visualize and … say things because I’ve got to paint my own picture. I’ve got to be Lucas Ramirez and I’ve got my own path.”
Manny Ramirez, a two-time World Series champion and the 2004 World Series MVP, would have been thrilled to see his son homer against any team, but it made it more special for him to do it against one of the top teams in the tournament.
“Oh yeah, they’re No. 1,” he said.
And he thinks the big night will give his son a boost for the upcoming season.
“It’s going to be more special for him because that’s going to give him — he’s going to be ready for the season,” Ramirez said. “I hope he’s going to do good.”
Lucas Ramirez is wearing the No. 24 his father donned for most of his career. And Manny Ramirez was thrilled to see his son succeed.
“I’m proud of him,” he said. “Thank God for this opportunity that he has.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
