CLEVELAND — When Jose Ramirez was 15 and still playing in the Dominican Republic, he began to realize that despite his smaller stature he could hit home runs like just about anyone else.
Fast forward 17 years, and Ramirez’s onslaught on the Guardians record books continues to be unrelenting.
Ramirez etched his name atop yet another franchise record Aug. 12, when he hit two home runs to lead the red-hot Guardians to a 4-3 win over the Miami Marlins. It was Ramirez’s 27th career multi-homer game, setting a franchise record that was previously held by Albert Belle and Jim Thome, who had 26 each.
It also gave him 134 career home runs at Progressive Field, passing Manny Ramirez for sole possession of second on that list behind only Thome (190).
Jose Ramirez began to learn he could keep up with players twice his size as a teenager in the Dominican Republic. The rest is history, which he keeps rewriting when it comes to the team’s record books.
“I think back when I was 15, I knew I could hit homers,” Ramirez said via a team translator. “But, at the same time, I’m lucky. … I knew maybe I don’t have the power, but I have quick hands, fast hands when hitting.”
Jose Ramirez stats
Thome, Belle and Manny Ramirez look every bit the part of a middle-of-the-order power hitter (or a slugger, a bopper, a masher). Thome still looks like he could pick up a car. Belle might own the most menacing look of any hitter over the last few decades. Manny Ramirez’s batting stance gave pitchers nightmares for years.
Jose Ramirez has his strut to the plate that no pitcher in baseball ever wants to see with the game on the line. But he’s always lacked the prototypical size and stature of the players he keeps passing on these all-time lists. And he certainly has the production, whether it’s led to the respect he deserves league-wide or not.
The Guardians, as they try to track down a playoff spot, had an uncharacteristic game Aug. 12 against the Marlins, riddled with errors and mistakes. It didn’t matter, largely because of Ramirez, who belted home runs in both the first and eighth innings. He twice gave the Guardians the lead.
“Yeah, making a joke, he’s just our dad taking care of us,” said All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan with a smile. “He’s putting this team on his back, doing what he does. … I mean, 27 [multi-homer games is] crazy. People don’t have 54 homers in their whole career and he’s doing it obviously in 27 games, which is just crazy.
“It’s special. It’s a privilege every day watching him do what he does.”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘It’s special’: Jose Ramirez etches his name atop another Guardians franchise record
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
