José Ramírez

José Ramírez (born September 17, 1992, Baní, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican professional baseball player who is among the most underappreciated superstars in Major League Baseball (MLB). Ramírez, the face of the Cleveland Guardians franchise, has played in five All-Star Games and four times has finished in the top four in the voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player award.

Early life

The eldest of two sons in the close-knit family headed by father Sito and mother Silveria (née Mateo) Ramírez, José Ramírez grew up about 40 miles (64 km) from Santo Domingo, in Baní, the commercial and manufacturing center of a coffee- and banana-producing region in the coastal lowlands of the southern Dominican Republic. For Ramírez, as for many boys in the baseball-obsessed country, the game they call pelota offered an avenue to escape poverty (in 2019, some 100 of the roughly 250 foreign-born players in the MLB were Dominican). Ramírez dropped out of school by age 13 and in his teens began playing in high-pressure amateur games that were wagered upon by fans who sometimes threatened the players with violence. His father, a former player, taught Ramírez to play hard, with heart, and to respect the game. But he also burdened his son with weighty expectations, telling him, as Ramírez explained in an interview, that “I was the future of the family, and if I didn’t make it, we would all be screwed.”

Rise to the major leagues

Ramírez would excel in the showcase Dominican Prospect League, but he was constantly overlooked by major league scouts because of his size. At 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 meters) tall and 165 pounds (75 kg), he simply was considered too small to succeed at an elite level. Even his coach Enrique Soto, one of Ramírez’s biggest supporters, pushed other players on Ramón Peña, a scout for the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) who showed an interest in Ramírez. Ultimately, Peña persuaded Cleveland scouting director John Mirabelli to sign Ramírez for a less-than-market-rate bonus of $50,000, and the young player was assigned to the organization’s Dominican baseball academy. From the 1970s (and especially since 2000) MLB teams have operated baseball academies in the Dominican Republic to develop young prospects. Although the multimillion-dollar academy that the Cleveland organization completed in 2019 now offers English classes and curricula aimed at helping attendees to obtain high-school diplomas, when in 2011 Ramírez landed in Arizona to play for Cleveland’s team in a rookie league, he did not speak a word of English.

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Nevertheless, Ramírez’s rise through the Cleveland organization was mercurial. In 2012, after a stint with Cleveland’s “Low A” minor-league affiliate, Ramírez was summoned to the “High A” Lake county (Ohio) team, where he hit .354. The next year found Ramírez playing for the AA team in Akron, but near the end of the season he was elevated all the way to the Indians. In the 2014 and 2015 seasons, still not fully ready for prime time, Ramírez bounced back and forth between Cleveland’s AAA team in Columbus and “the Show” in Cleveland, where he finally settled in to stay in August 2015.

MLB career

A slick-fielding infielder, Ramírez began his tenure in Cleveland as a utility man, switching between shortstop, second base, and third base, as well as spending some time patrolling left field. In his breakout 2016 season, he became the Indians’ regular third baseman, compiled a .312 batting average, socked 11 home runs, and drove in 76 runs for a Cleveland club that was beaten in the World Series by the Chicago Cubs four games to three. By 2017 Ramírez’s frame had filled out to 190 pounds (86 kg). That year the compact switch-hitter demonstrated unexpected power that quickly became the norm for him, as he blasted 29 homers, 6 triples, and a league-leading 56 doubles, while hitting .318, collecting 83 runs batted in (RBIs), and stealing 17 bases during a season in which he made his first All-Star Game appearance (as of 2023, four more have followed). That year Ramírez won the Silver Slugger Award (given to the best hitter at each position in each league) for the AL third baseman—the first of four he would collect (he won again in 2018, 2020, and 2022). He also finished third in the balloting for the AL’s Most Valuable Player and would again finish in the top four in 2018 (third), 2020 (second), and 2022 (fourth).

In 2018 Ramírez belted 39 home runs and stole 34 bases (becoming the big leagues’ first “30-30” man in six seasons) to go along with 105 RBIs and 106 walks. Walks became more common for Ramírez as pitchers were increasingly reluctant to challenge him, yet he remained an extra-base-hit machine, pounding 36 home runs in 2021 and 29 in 2022. In the latter year he also recorded 126 RBIs (second in the AL) despite playing the second half of the season with an injured right hand that required surgery, which he delayed until the offseason, effectively batting one-handed from the left side beginning in the middle of June.

Guardian for life?

That 2022 season was a landmark for both Ramírez and the Guardians (beyond their name change from the Indians, which had been widely seen as outdated and offensive). Ramírez was nearing the end of his contract with the club, and many observers were convinced that this would be his last season playing for the small-market franchise with one of the MLB’s lowest payrolls. It seemed unlikely that the Guardians would be able to compete with the offers that Ramírez could command as a free agent. However, out of loyalty to the team that had given him his start and to the city that he had come to love, he delighted the Cleveland faithful in April by signing a seven-year $141 million “no-trade” contract that promised to allow him to finish his career with the Guardians. Few doubted that by not putting himself on the open market Ramírez likely had left a small fortune on the table (former teammate Francisco Lindor signed a 10-year $341 million contract with the New York Mets after leaving Cleveland). In the process, Ramírez inspired his teammates. The 2022 Guardians had the youngest roster in the MLB, and Ramírez—their best player, setting an example by also being their hardest-working player—led them to the Central Division championship and a surprising playoff run that ended with them falling to the New York Yankees three games to two in one of the American League Division Series (ALDS).

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Baseball Ramírez style

Hustle is a hallmark of Ramírez’s game, as it is for those of many Dominican players, according to Alan M. Klein, the author of Dominican Baseball: New Pride, Old Prejudice (2014):

Whereas Americans love a display of power, Latin American players and fans prefer a flourish of baseball smartness and “hustle.”

Among the most familiar sights at a Guardians game is that of Ramírez diving headfirst into a base—his batting helmet floating in midair, blond-tipped dreadlocks flying—as he goes from first base to third as base runner on a teammate’s base hit or as he stretches his own single into a double. Equally pivotal is the cerebral aspect of Ramírez’s play. His longtime manager with the Guardians, Terry (“Tito”) Francona, has often praised Ramírez’s baseball IQ and noted that he never goes to the plate without a plan. In a 2018 interview with ESPN, then Indian and later TV analyst Yonder Alonso waxed poetic when describing his teammate as a batter:

When Ramírez steps out to the plate, we may see it as a game or as an athlete going out there and doing his thing, but it really is an art. This guy is a painter; this guy is like Picasso.

In addition to swinging a big bat, Ramírez has a big personality. When the Guardians are at bat, he can usually be found perched on the ledge at the far end of the dugout, alternately studying the opposing pitcher or jovially holding forth for a clutch of his admiring teammates, some whom he is doubtlessly mentoring. His rich sense of humor is reflected in the medallion that he often wears along with a golden chain: the medallion features a photo of himself wearing the chain. Moreover, the trip from the dugout to the plate for the squat Ramírez is also distinctive—equal parts saunter, strut, and swagger. The darling of Guardians’ fans, he is often serenaded at Cleveland’s Progressive Field with choruses of “Jo-sé, José, José, José, Jo-sé, Jo-sé” (after the fashion of the “Olé, Olé, Olé” football [soccer] chant).

“Down goes Anderson! Down goes Anderson!”

The 2023 season was a disappointing one for both the Guardians and Ramírez, as the team failed to make the playoffs and his home run and RBI totals dipped to 24 and 80, respectively. However, it produced a moment that will surely remain prominent in Ramírez lore. During an August game between the Guardians and the rival Chicago White Sox, the Sox shortstop, Tim Anderson, lingered menacingly over Ramírez after Ramírez slid headfirst between Anderson’s legs into second for a double. As Ramírez rose to his feet, the two began arguing and punches were thrown by both players before Ramírez landed a blow that flattened Anderson. “Down goes Anderson! Down goes Anderson!” chimed the Guardians’ longtime radio announcer Tom Hamilton, channeling renowned sportscaster Howard Cosell’s famous call from the 1973 heavyweight championship fight between George Foreman and Joe Frazier (“Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!”). Video of the incident (which earned both players a multiple-game suspension) and Hamilton’s description went viral on the Internet, and Ramírez’s national profile, still not commensurate with his achievements, got a little larger.

Personal life

Ramírez is married to Rosedith (née Almonte) Ramírez. They have a daughter and a son. Ramírez’s younger brother played for a time in the Cleveland organization. The family divides its time between Cleveland and its Dominican home in Baní. Ramírez’s grandmother Santa Ramírez (whose death during the 2023 season shook Ramírez) instilled in him the importance of sharing his good fortune. Under her influence, he has given back to the communities in both his home and adopted home. In Baní he funded the refurbishing of the baseball field on which he learned to play, making it a safe haven in a dangerous environment. In Cleveland he and the Guardians have spent some $2.7 million building the ball field that bears his name in the neighborhood that is home to Ohio’s largest Latino population. In recognition of his involvement with these and other community-minded initiatives, Ramírez was the Guardians’ 2023 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, which is presented annually to the MLB player who best represents baseball “through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”