Domestic battery charges against Manny Ramirez were dropped Friday after his wife refused to cooperate with Florida prosecutors.
That good news for Ramirez comes on the heels of his first homer for the Athletics earlier this month, when Oakland won 8-6 over a Milwaukee Brewers split squad.
Ramirez, 39, was arrested last September at his Weston, Fla., home after wife Juliana Ramirez told officers that he struck her with an open hand on the couple's bed, according to a police report.
Juliana Ramirez told police the blow caused her to hit her head on the headboard of their bed and, fearing the situation would escalate, she promptly called police, the report said. Ramirez told officers his wife hit her head after he grabbed her by the shoulders and "shrugged" her, the report said.
But on Friday, prosecutors said they had no choice but to drop the charges because Juliana Ramirez was "uncooperative," Broward County State Attorney's Office spokesman Ron Ishoy said in a statement released Friday.
"She successfully avoided being served with a state subpoena and is believed to be out of state," Ishoy said.
After the incident, Ramirez was booked into jail and later released on $2,500 bond. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in October.
The Dominican Republic-born outfielder has been in spring training with the A's and attempting a comeback.
He had retired last April after he was notified by Major League Baseball of an issue under MLB’s drug prevention and treatment program. In 2009, he was suspended 50 games by MLB for violating the league's drug policy.
Ramirez began his career with the Cleveland Indians before becoming a superstar with the Boston Red Sox, where he won two World Series. He also played for the L.A. Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays.
