Aramis Ramirez Chose Milwaukee for the Weather?

One of my favorite stories from ‘Brewers On Deck’ last week, was that of Aramis Ramirez and the controlled climate.  While it is impossible to deny that I inadvertently created a Harry Potter film title just now, Ramirez is really looking forward to playing in Miller Park.  And why wound’t he?  Playing in a dome can be a power hitters best friend, and Chicago weather totally blows.  Oh, and did I mention that Miller Park is climate controlled!!  Or how about the fact that our locker room wasn’t built during the Teddy Roosevelt Presidency!!  Suck on that baby bear lovers.

This is straight from Ramirez:

"Chicago is tough to play early in the season, it’s real cold, the wind blowing.  Here, we don’t have to worry about that. I’m from the Dominican, from an island, so I don’t really like cold weather."

Aramis Ramirez is from the Dominican Republic.  In case you are not familiar with the climate in the Dominican, it is really hot…all the time.  April in Chicago can really suck.  You’ve got the blistering  wind blowing off of Lake Michigan, sometimes you get a little lake effect snow, and worst of all, Cubs fans.  No wonder he wanted out of Chicago.

At the same time, how ingenious to stay in a division where you already know most of the pitchers…and have owned them over the past decade (in Pittsburgh and Chicago).  You have got to give the guy credit.  Aramis did his homework and he gets an A+ in my book.

In my opinion though, the biggest reasons that Ramirez wanted to play in Milwaukee was so that he could prolong his career.  It is no big secret that Ramirez has had some injury troubles throughout his career.  Being able to play indoors during April, early May, and usually September will keep his limbs in tact and hopefully get him through the next few seasons.  When he was younger it was not an issue, but now that he is in his mid-30’s that cold catches up to you much faster.  I am only 28 and my threshold for cold weather is embarrassing.

I have played baseball in the freezing cold and it sucks.  The ball is harder, your fingers start to sting from the cold, and you realize how much time you spend standing around during a 9 inning game.  Sometimes you can catch a screaming ground ball off of your chest and feel the ball for like 20 minutes afterwards.  No wonder he wants to play in a dome with a thermostat.

Miller Park also happens to be a hitter friendly ballpark.  So, let’s do a quick re-cap; indoors, no cold, winning team, hitters park, and best fans on earth.  Kind of makes you wonder why more free-agent hitters don’t want to play in Milwaukee.  Have fun in Detroit Prince!

I have gotten off topic a bit.

Aramis Ramirez is a perfect fit in Milwaukee.  Let’s give him the same love and support we give to all of our boys.  I know that he was a Brewers killer for the past 8 years, but we need to let that go.  We also need to keep in mind that he took a monstrous pay cut for the 2012 season, specifically so that he could be a part of this team.  This is a better relationship than any internet lover eHarmony can hook you up with.

If we still played outdoors, we never would have landed Ramirez and in all likelihood would be starting the season with Casey McGehee at 3rd base.  Yikes. 

This development only proves, yet again, that Miller Park is one of the finest palaces in all of baseball.