“Actually, I want to play again, because I need 400 hits for 3,000,” an enthusiastic Manny Ramirez said. “I think they need my bat!”

If there was any doubt that the fan-favorite slugger is still just ‘Manny being Manny’ after all these years, he put that to rest at the Foundation To Be Named Later’s roundtable event Monday.

Ramirez and several of his 2004 teammates are in town for the home opener. During Tuesday’s pregame ceremonies, the Red Sox will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their historic championship and pay tribute to beloved knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, and his wife Stacy, who passed away in October and February after battling cancer. The Sox will also honor longtime team president Larry Lucchino, who passed away last week.

Ramirez never officially retired, and since his last Major League game with the 2011 Tampa Bay Rays, he’s traversed the globe to keep his game going. There have been minor league deals, a season in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League, an offseason in the Dominican Professional Baseball League, a stint in Japanese independent ball, and a contract with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League.

In eight delightful, chaotic, epic years in Boston, Ramirez cemented himself on the franchise leaderboards: third in slugging percentage (.588) and OPS (.999), fifth in on-base percentage (.411), sixth in home runs (274), seventh in RBI (868), ninth in runs created (955) and extra-base hits (537), 10th in total bases (2,324).

There are only 33 batters in MLB’s 3,000-hit club. Even 426 knocks shy, the slugger was one of the greatest of his generation. His 2,574 hits rank 91st all-time, and his 555 homers and 437 doubles are 15th and 34th in MLB history, respectively.

“I’m not trying to retire,” he reiterated. “I need 400 hits for 3,000, I need to come back!”

Assuming he can’t get in Tuesday’s lineup, Ramirez had another idea for how to relive the good old days.

“I want to come out out of left field,” he said, referring to how he’d occasionally disappear through the door in the Green Monster during games.