José Ramírez Ascends in Guardians History
Dominican José Ramírez, a key figure for the Cleveland Guardians, continues to make his mark on the franchise’s history. With a run-scoring triple in the sixth inning of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Ramírez reached 938 RBIs, surpassing Jim Thome and securing second place on the team’s all-time list since RBIs have been officially counted. The hit, a solid contact down the third base line against the pitches of the left-handed Garrett Cleavinger, allowed his compatriot Angel Martinez to score the tying run. Subsequently, a run-scoring single by the Venezuelan Gabriel Arias completed the comeback, securing the series for Cleveland.The only player who surpasses Ramírez in RBIs for the Guardians is Earl Averill, with 1,084 RBIs. At 32 years old, projections suggest that Ramírez could become the franchise’s all-time leader in this category in the next two seasons. This achievement adds to another milestone recently reached by J-Ram: his 280th stolen base in Major League Baseball. With this mark, he broke the tie with Omar Vizquel and positioned himself in second place historically for Cleveland in stolen bases, only surpassed by Kenny Lofton (452). In the Live Ball Era (since 1920), Ramírez is established as one of the most outstanding second basemen. Among players with at least 50% of their games at the position, only Chone Figgins (341) has more stolen bases than him.“José is going to keep doing this as long as he’s in Cleveland. He’s one of the best players on the planet. It’s a lot of fun and a gift to be able to watch him every day”.
Stephen Vogt, Manager
With this victory, the Guardians remain 2.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the fight for the third Wild Card of the American League. Ramírez’s performance could be crucial in the final stretch of the season.“I think both marks —hit by pitch and stolen bases— are very important. They are part of my game: play aggressive, produce runs and find any way to help the team”.
José Ramírez
