The Cleveland Guardians are inducting Manny Ramirez into their Hall of Fame Saturday night. One of the greatest players in the history of the Guardians franchise, Manny Ramirez issued a heartfelt statement on what it meant for him to receive the honor.

“Today is a very special day for me and my family,” Ramirez said in his statement. “Today the Cleveland Guardians, the former Indians, honor me in a special way, by inducting me into the Hall of Fame, a great team and a great city. In this great city and team I began my career full of dreams, a restless young man wanting to show what was in me, and what I could do in baseball. On behalf of myself and my family, I first thank God and the Cleveland Guardians, their executives for this great honor they do me today.”

Ramirez made his MLB debut for Cleveland (formerly the Indians) in the 1993 season. Ramirez finished second in the 1994 AL Rookie of the Year voting. He was a top-six MVP finisher in each season from 1998-2000, his final three years with Cleveland.

Ramirez hit .313/.407/.592 with the Guardians. After hitting 45 home runs in 1998, he hit 44 homers with a league-high 165 RBI in 1999. Ramirez had a .351 batting average in 2000. His 1.105 and 1.154 OPS during his last two Cleveland seasons were also the best in the league.

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While Ramirez was arguably the best right-handed hitter of his era, the Guardians' Hall of Famer experienced his share of issues away from the field. The end of his career was highlighted by two PED suspensions. In September 2011, Ramirez was arrested and charged with battery stemming from a domestic dispute. The charges were eventually dropped.

“I thank you for recognizing my bat, my numbers were made on the field of play and not with my private life,” Ramirez continued. “We all make mistakes, and much more in youth, no one is perfect, since the only perfect one is Lord Jesus Christ and many ballplayers who left all their strength on the pitch, and who, like me, have put numbers to be recognized, today their field numbers are overshadowed by mistakes made off the field. Thank you to all the members of this great team of the Cleveland Guardians, and to all your staff and work team.”

Ramirez is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.