All-Star third baseman José Ramírez is off to one of the best starts of his career, propelling the Cleveland Guardians to a winning record in the first two months of the season. Ideastream Public Media's sports commentator Terry Pluto calls Ramírez a “secret superstar” who continues to break records in his 13th season with the team.
Pluto said the pivotal moment was in the spring of 2022 when Ramírez signed what amounts to a lifetime contract. Pluto said had Ramírez not agreed to the seven-year, $141 million extension, he would have been traded.
“Here we are in '25 (and) if the playoffs were to begin right now, the Guardians would be one of the wild card teams," Pluto said. "He is the one that really, I would say, stabilized a positive direction that the franchise has been since 2013 and (he) keeps them in contention. I mean, he really is the motor that drives this team."
Last month, Ramírez joined an exclusive club of players with at least 250 home runs and 250 stolen bases.
Along with becoming the first Cleveland player to pull off the feat, he’s the 24th player in Major League Baseball history and the first primary third baseman to do it.
“Very few players do that, usually because guys who are hitting more than 250 career home runs tend not to be fast and guys that are stealing a ton of bases tend not to hit a whole bunch of home runs,” Pluto said.
Pluto said what makes Ramírez so special is that he wasn’t a top prospect. In 2012, he signed for a minimum $50,000 bonus out of the Dominican Republic.
“I first saw him in the spring (of) 2013 at a spring training game where in the middle of it, like the fifth inning, they brought up some players from minor league camp to play in the big-league game," Pluto said. "I was sitting with Mark Shapiro, team president back then, and (Francisco) Lindor came up. Of course, Lindor was the number one pick, and then this little guy, playing second base. I'm watching him and he turns a double play and he got a base hit and he stole a base, and I said to Shapiro, ‘Who is that? Who's the little guy?’ That's José Ramírez and I'm like, ‘Okay, I never heard of him.’”
Ramírez bounced between Cleveland and Class AAA Columbus in 2014 and 2015. He was 20 years old when he arrived in the big leagues.
Now at 32, he’s off to one of the best starts of his career. He posted a .386 batting average in May, with five homers, eight doubles, eight stolen bases, 11 walks and 11 strikeouts.
“He is, once again, putting this team on his back,” Pluto said.
Ramírez’s approach to the game also sparks the team.
“He runs hard on everything," Pluto said. "He slides headfirst into bases. Remember, I think it was earlier in the season, he got hit in the neck with a ball running down to first base and everybody thought he'd be out for a while. He missed a game.”
Ramírez also mentors the younger players on the team, such as Angel Martinez.
“The other day… he and Martinez are sitting (in the dugout)", Pluto said. "They're looking at the iPad, and it was very clear Martinez was looking at himself on this iPad, batting. You could see Jose was laughing, but then he was pointing at things at the screen and pointing at the pitcher. This is the stuff that great players who are totally invested, in this case, totally invested in Cleveland baseball, what they do.
"I really believe as much as we appreciate him here, he's just still even underrated here," Pluto said. "I'll tell you, it was a franchise changing day at the end of spring training in 2022 when he signed that contract to stay. His goal is to make the Hall of Fame, he's well on his way, and to go in as a member of the Indians/Guardians.”
