José Ramírez insists he's not having a great year, but the numbers (and another All-Star nod) suggest otherwise

New York Times

14 hours ago

CHICAGO — José Ramírez, the American League All-Star team's starting third baseman who boasts a gaudy batting average, OPS, and stolen base total and a tiny strikeout rate, doesn't think he's having a great season.
Because of that sentiment, Cleveland's face of the franchise thanked the fans for electing him an All-Star starter for the fourth time. He earned 74 percent of the votes in a duel with Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman. The fact that Ramírez entered Wednesday's action with a .305/.367/.493 slash line, and the fact that such sterling statistics are nothing new for him, might have something to do with it.
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'It really hasn't been the type of year that I've wanted to have, that I've worked for,' Ramírez said Wednesday afternoon, through team interpreter Agustín Rivero, from the visitor's dugout at Wrigley Field. 'I feel it's more a credit to the fans who voted me to be there because I wish I had a different performance, a better performance this year.'
When pressed on what aspect of his game, exactly, he isn't satisfied with, Ramírez replied: 'Todo. Todo. Todo. Todo.' That translates to 'all,' or in this case, 'everything,' and his insistence on repeating the word conveys the disappointment of a potential Hall of Famer who holds himself to a high standard.
It's Ramírez's seventh All-Star nod; with one more, he'll match Bob Feller for the franchise record. It's another instance of Ramírez threatening just about every record in the Cleveland baseball history book, some of which have stood for more than a century.
Ramírez broke into the big leagues in September 2013, when Cleveland leveraged expanded rosters — teams could carry 40 active players at the time — to involve a 20-year-old pinch-runner to help the club claw its way to a Wild Card berth. Long before he showcased his well-rounded skills, he ran the bases with reckless abandon at the end of Terry Francona's first season as Cleveland's manager.
In the following two seasons, Ramírez struggled to establish himself as an everyday option. He bounced between Triple A and the majors and had the organization thinking he might wind up as a utility player once veteran Mike Aviles departed.
Yeah, uh, not quite.
Now he's 32, a seven-time All-Star and a six-time top-six finisher in the AL MVP balloting, and his name surfaces on the Guardians' all-time leaderboard for just about any offensive category.
He sits 69 home runs behind Jim Thome for the franchise record (337). On that list, the 5-foot-8 infielder is sandwiched between two of the franchise's symbols of brute strength and slugging in Thome and Albert Belle.
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He ranks third in team history in doubles, 106 behind record-holder Tris Speaker. He ranks fifth in club history in runs scored, 213 behind leader Earl Averill. He ranks fifth in RBIs, 182 behind Averill. He ranks third in stolen bases, 188 behind Kenny Lofton. He ranks eighth in hits, 460 behind Nap Lajoie.
Early next season, Ramírez should eclipse Terry Turner for the franchise record for games played (1,619), a record that has held firm since 1918. Ramírez appeared in his 1,533rd game on Wednesday night.
The reason most or all of those records are in danger? Well, most important, Ramírez agreed to sign a long-term extension at the end of spring training in 2022, which should keep him in a Cleveland uniform through the 2028 season, 15 years after he debuted in the majors. Also, Ramírez hasn't exhibited signs of slowing down.
His discontentment aside, Ramírez has produced a first half in line with a customary Ramírez season. (And that's despite a recent funk that just so happens to coincide with being plunked in the forearm last week by Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman, which sidelined Ramírez for a game and a half. Ramírez insists he's fine.)
If there's anything he might have a right to be frustrated by, perhaps it's his defense, but even in that realm, he has rebounded from a rough start. Ramírez has eight errors, one shy of his total from last season, but he ranks in the 74th percentile in Statcast's fielding run value, and the 89th percentile in Outs Above Average. He is still chasing an elusive Gold Glove Award. He's a perennial finalist and has voiced his aim to claim the award. His coaches thought he should have won the hardware last year.
Last season, Ramírez finished one home run shy of the league's second-ever 40/40/40 season (Alfonso Soriano, 2006). A little past the midpoint of this season, he sits at 13 homers, 16 doubles and 21 stolen bases. It'd require quite the summer surge to reach 40 homers or doubles this year, though he's hitting for a higher average and boasts one of the best strikeout rates in the sport.
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His home run rate has dipped a bit this season — at least, relative to last season, when he socked a career high-tying 39 homers — but Ramírez, a two-time participant in the Home Run Derby, said he would sign up for another go at it if anyone in the league office were to reach out to him.
'It would be a beautiful opportunity, a beautiful experience,' he said.
For now, that's not part of his All-Star week duties, but, per usual, that week will be a busy one for the heartbeat of Cleveland's lineup.
'He's the best all-around third baseman in baseball,' said Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. 'He's one of the top-five players, in my opinion. … I'm just thankful I get to watch him do it every day.'