As a psychology consultant to the Boston Red Sox, former major league pitcher Bob Tewksbury stresses a Zen-like approach to hitting.

Manny Ramirez, he said, embodies the philosophy.

"I try to tell all the players, 'Be in the moment, this pitch, that is the only thing that matters,'" Tewksbury said via e-mail. "And he does that better than anyone."

Tewksbury knows from experience. On Sept. 16, 1998, Ramirez took him deep twice.

"When I played against Manny he had the chance to be one of the best right-handed hitters ever," said Tewksbury, who retired 10 days later. "I would say that since I last faced him, he is very well on his way to making that statement true."

It's almost an insult to refer to Ramirez as just a slugger. He isn't Dave Kingman or Cecil Fielder. He's a man, who at the plate, Tewksbury says, "has no weakness."

Ramirez, who will turn 36 on Friday, has elevated home run hitting to an art form. Each one of his 498 homers is unique. Each one deserves its own moment.

No. 1, Sept. 3, 1993

New York City's own comes home in a Cleveland Indians uniform. In the sixth inning, he smashes an 0-1 pitch deep into Yankee Stadium's left-field bleachers.

"I just wanted to get a hit because all my friends were here," he tells the New York Times. "I wanted to look good for them. They pumped me up."

He adds his second-career homer in the eighth. The old neighborhood goes bonkers. Manny's made it.

"He's taking us all with him," high school teammate Ralph Gonzalez says. "He's putting Washington Heights on the map."

No. 33, June 19, 1995

In the bottom of the 10th inning, Manny knocks a 3-2 pitch from Boston's Ken Ryan over the fence in right-center to give Cleveland a 4-3 win. It's his first walkoff blast. Jacobs Field erupts.

"I realized I was pulling off the ball," he tells The Boston Globe. "So I said, 'I'm going to try to go up the middle or to right field on this guy.' And luckily it went out of the park."

Luckily. Right.

No. 45, Aug. 14, 1995

The start of a beautiful friendship. Manny crushes a ball over the left-center field fence at the Jake. It's the first of 10 career homers off Baltimore lefty Jamie Moyer. Manny has hit more homers off Moyer than any other pitcher.

No. 53, April 21, 1996

Cleveland beats Boston 11-7. In the second inning, Manny homers off Roger Clemens for the first time. Manny homers off him again (54) four innings later. When later asked about the home runs, Clemens shakes his head. He must have misremembered what happened.

No. 150, Sept. 16, 1998

Manny jacks a pair off Tewksbury, who just wants to end his 13-year big league career in peace. Tewks becomes the first pitcher Manny inspires to become a psychologist. After facing Manny, most pitchers would rather just see a psychologist. (See Moyer, Jamie).

No. 237, April 6, 2001

In his first at-bat at Fenway Park as a member of the Red Sox, Manny swats one over the Green Monster.

"It's on," Manny's bat screams. Manny himself stays pretty quiet.

"Some (balls) are going to go out (of the park)," he tells The Globe, "some are going to stay; it doesn't matter."

Fans disagree.

No. 254, June 3, 2001

Manny sends a hanging curveball into oblivion. It lands 491 feet away — it's the longest homer in SkyDome history — on a blue tarp covering the fifth deck. It bounces toward a hotel room window looking over the field.

New Hampshire's own Chris Carpenter, Toronto's starting pitcher that day, is the victim. Manny's teammates react as if they've seen a comet streaking across the sky.

"You just wanted to enjoy it," Dante Bichette says of the blast.

"That was awesome," Brian Daubach says. "I've never seen anything like that."

The previous SkyDome record was 488 feet, set by Mark McGwire in 1996. Manny doesn't concern himself with such minutiae. And why would he?

"It's just another home run," he says. "It only counts for one run so why go crazy for it?"

No. 350, April 17, 2004

As Boston begins its march to the World Series, Manny heats up.

Mike Mussina serves up No. 350, a shot over the Volvo sign above the Monster. Manny becomes the 69th player in major league history to reach 350 homers, tying Chili Davis. Mussina becomes Manny's new favorite target. (He has nine career homers off Mussina).

No. 453, June 19, 2006

Manny hits his 18th homer of the season to move ahead of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski and former Cleveland teammate Jim Thome and into a tie with Gary Sheffield for 28th on baseball's all-time list. He further cements his place among Red Sox left-field greats Yaz, Ted Williams and Jim Rice.

No. 486, July 26, 2007

At Jacobs Field, Manny plays backyard ball, sending Cliff Lee's pitch over the bushes. In this case, the bushes are 481 feet away, beyond the center-field fence.

Manny's SkyDome shot is trumped, not in distance, but in stature. In Cleveland, Only Thome's 511-foot blast in 1999 and McGwire's 485-foot shot in 1997 traveled farther.

"It was a bomb," Kevin Youkilis says. "I don't know how they measure it, but he crushed it."

Indians fans boo as Manny rounds the bases. Manny pumps his fist, blissfully unaffected.

No. 493, April 14, 2008

Manny continues to wreak havoc on his former team, crushing Joe Borowski's first pitch into the left-field bleachers. It breaks a 4-4 tie in the ninth and knots him with Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 24th on the all-time list.

"Manny," manager Terry Francona says, "took such a pretty swing."

No. 500?

At the moment, Manny's sitting on 498. He hasn't hit a homer since May 12. Don't panic though. On June 30, 1979, Yaz hit his 399th. He didn't hit 400 until July 24.

It likely won't take Manny that long. He may be slumping, but all it takes is one swing, one moment of brilliance, to turn things around.

Material from the AP was used in this report. Alan Siegel is a sports writer at The Eagle-Tribune. E-mail him at ASiegel@eagletribune.com.

Postseason HR numbers

1995%3

1996%2

1997%4

1998%4

1999%0

2003%3

2004%2

2005%2

2007%4

Total: 24*

*The most in major league history

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Manny's most memorable blast

Twelve years after his first walkoff home run, Manny hit a slightly more notable game-ender, a three-run shot to give the Red Sox a 6-3 win in Game 2 of the American League Division Series last October.

The homer, which sailed over the Green Monster, came off Anaheim's Francisco Rodriguez. It gave Boston a 2-0 series lead.

"That moment, I'm just trying to see the ball," Manny said at the time. "He missed his spot and I hit the ball. That's it."

Joining the immortals

Rank%Name%HRs

1.%Barry Bonds%762

2.%Hank Aaron%755

3.%Babe Ruth%714

4.%Willie Mays%660

5.%Sammy Sosa%609

6.%*Ken Griffey Jr.%598

7.%Frank Robinson%586

8.%Mark McGwire%583

9.%Harmon Killebrew%573

10.%Rafael Palmeiro%569

11.%Reggie Jackson%563

12.%Mike Schmidt%548

13.%Mickey Mantle%536

14.%Jimmie Foxx%534

15.%*Alex Rodriguez%524

16.%Willie McCovey%521

17.%Ted Williams%521

18.%*Frank Thomas%519

19.%*Jim Thome%516

20.%Ernie Banks%512

21.%Eddie Mathews%512

22.%Mel Ott%511

23.%Eddie Murray%504

24.%*Manny Ramirez%498

* Denotes active player

Note: 15 of the 16 eligible players in the 500-homer club are in the Hall of Fame. Mark McGwire is the lone exception.