Manny Being Manny... in the Playoffs

Chicago White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams was thrilled to acquire veteran slugger Manny Ramirez from the Dodgers this week, but he’s hoping the addition will provide its biggest benefits beyond Game 162.

"Our thought behind it was very simple," said Williams on MLB.com. "We not only want to get into the playoffs, but once we get in, we would like to have a chance to do something special. You need a hitter who can hit good pitching and hit in the clutch, and it's just a matter of him getting his timing back and he will be effective."

Now 38 years old, Manny Ramirez has been in the playoffs with the Red Sox and Dodgers six times in the last seven years. In those seven years the league has combined for a .743 On Base Plus Slugging (OPS) in the playoffs, while Manny has posted an incredible 1.046 OPS in 222 at-bats (a batting average of .338 with 16 home runs, a .442 on-base percentage, and a .604 slugging percentage). If the White Sox manage to string together enough wins to reach the playoffs, opposing pitchers would cringe at the sight of the all-time playoff home run leader middle of the White Sox order. Manny has 29 home runs in postseason play. Bernie Williams is a distant second with 22.

And while the league as a whole has hit a bit worse in the postseason compared to the regular season (18 point drop in OPS), Manny has actually kicked into another gear, raising his OPS by 58 points in recent years.