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Ramirez back to work with Cubs hitters

MESA, Ariz. - The Cubs apparently liked what they saw from Manny Ramirez last year.

Ramirez, who worked as a player-coach for the Cubs' Class AAA Iowa affiliate last season, was named Tuesday as a hitting consultant. The former big-league slugger will work with players at all levels, including the major leagues, beginning in spring training.

Team president Theo Epstein said you also can expect to see Ramirez around the batting cage at Wrigley Field from time to time.

"Manny got rave reviews from everybody he worked with, from the young hitters that he helped influence to the coaches he spent a lot of time around," said Epstein, who had Ramirez as a player with the Boston Red Sox.

"He just did a great job of fitting in, sharing his wisdom and experience and being a good influence, being very open and honest with the guys of what not to do from his past and lessons that he learned along the way.

"He was a huge asset, and we were really hopeful about the possibilities of bringing him back, and we were able to work something out."

Ramirez, who hit 555 home runs in parts of 19 seasons, ran afoul of Major League Baseball for violating its policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

From the moment he hired Ramirez last year, Epstein stressed that Ramirez had a lot to offer young hitters on all fronts. Epstein also noted that Ramirez has not formally retired as a player but that he had consistently expressed an interesting in working with the Cubs' young hitters.

"He's as advanced mentally as a right-handed hitter that I've come across, and also a hard worker," Epstein said. "Sometimes people say, 'Oh, Manny is like a hitting savant.' But there's a lot of hard work going into it in Boston."

Organizational moves:

The Cubs announced several other organizational hirings. They officially named former big-leaguer Kevin Youkilis as a scouting and player-development consultant.

Youkilis spent parts of nine seasons with the Red Sox before being sent to the White Sox in 2012. Theo Epstein said Youkilis will work part time for now, "doing a little bit of everything."

One interesting move was naming former big-leaguer Darnell McDonald coordinator of the organization's mental skills program. McDonald played in 25 games with the Cubs in 2013. He retired as a player at the end of spring training last year but stayed with the organization as a baseball-operations assistant.

"He definitely gravitated toward helping minor-league players on the mental aspects of baseball and adapting to a professional lifestyle, how to be a true professional, how to be a good teammate, how to deal with adversity, how to establish a routine, how to relax and get the best out of yourself," Epstein said. "He was really good at that and gravitated toward that."

The Cubs named Josh Lifrak director of their mental skills program as the team wholeheartedly embraces the teachings of sports psychology. Lifrak spent the last 10 years as the senior mental conditioning consultant at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

"We had sort or a yearlong project to rebuild our mental skills department," Epstein said. "We always recognized the importance of it, but we weren't happy with what we had in place, so rather than rush to do something, we wanted to do a search and get the right person to lead the department.

"That led us to Josh Lifrak … He and Darnell started working well together, so that's how the structure came about."

Totally dedicated:

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts unveiled a new marquee and dedicated the Cubs' spring ballpark as Sloan Park. The facility was known as Cubs Park last year. The Cubs sold naming rights to Sloan Valve Company.

BRUCE MILES/bmiles@dailyherald.comFormer baseball player Darnell McDonald, right, is now the mental skills coordinator for the Cubs, team officials announced Tuesday.
BRUCE MILES/bmiles@dailyherald.comA new sign welcomes fans to Sloan Park, the team's spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz.
BRUCE MILES/bmiles@dailyherald.comA worker puts the finishing touches on a Cubs billboard at Sloan Park, the team's spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz.
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