A joke and a hack: J-Ram setting tone for Guardians' spring

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Hunter Gaddis was on his final pitch. The last person any pitcher would want to face in that situation is José Ramírez.

Ramírez popped up from the fence he was leaning against and headed toward the batter’s box with a smile on his face. He had been chirping back and forth with his close friend Myles Straw for the last half-hour during this live batting practice session. The two pick on each other like brothers, always trying to get the final jab.

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In an instant, the grin faded into a concentrated stare toward the pitcher. Gaddis released his final pitch with a bit of a grunt as he unloaded his tank in this early spring workout. Ramírez didn’t hesitate.

With one swing of the bat, Ramírez laced a line drive that one-hopped the right-field fence. He pivoted out of the batter’s box and headed back toward the third-base dugout, as Straw manifested an “of-course-you-did” smile on his face.

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This is what a typical day at Spring Training consists of: joking, laughing and on-the-field workouts. The difference with Tuesday is that it’s a week before official team practices are slated to begin.

Position players don’t need to be in the building until Saturday. Instead, nearly every person invited to big league camp was already at the facility on Tuesday afternoon like overly eager children excited for the first day of school.

At one point, Emmanuel Clase made his first appearance at the facility and Ramírez was excited to run away from third base and give him a hug. Austin Hedges walked down to the bullpen area and first base and catching coach Sandy Alomar Jr. couldn’t have had a bigger grin on his face, seeing Hedges back in Cleveland navy and red. Josh Naylor was like a kid at recess, screaming at the top of his lungs every time Tyler Freeman squared up a pitch during live batting practice.

Who needs to wait until the weekend to report to camp when you’re ready to get the 2024 season underway now?

“Everyone’s excited to get started,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “Players, coaches, staff, front office, me. We’re all excited to get going.”

These workouts are a little more casual until everything becomes full-throttle next week. But that doesn’t mean we don’t still learn things about the players. There are a handful of times each season when it becomes abundantly clear how impactful Ramírez is on this team. This week is one of them.

Aside from the fact that he needed all of one day to prove that his bat never collects dust over the offseason, his presence this early in camp is what’s irreplaceable. As the superstar player who signed the long-term extension and is an annual AL MVP candidate, Ramírez doesn’t need to be the guy who’s first to show up in camp, and yet, he always is. And for a roster that could be the youngest in baseball for the third consecutive year, that leadership is critical to guide the up-and-coming talent on how to be successful at the Major League level.

“It’s one thing for me to say something. It’s entirely different for Stephen [Vogt] to say something or a coach,” Antonetti said. “But all of that pales in comparison when another player, especially a star, elite, potentially Hall of Fame player, shares something with you. That carries a whole lot of things. And not just say things but set the example for how to do things. It means a lot and helps set the tone for our team.”

The Guardians have so many question marks entering this season. No one knows if the young talent will pan out. No one knows if the rotation can stay healthy to be the anchor to their success. No one knows how Vogt will handle the transition from player to manager. No one knows if Cleveland will contend in the AL Central.

If they want success, they need to have leaders, and Ramírez is once again proving from Day 1 that he can be a trusted one. He can smack a one-hopper off the outfield fence, or he can crack a joke about Straw that will have anyone within earshot laughing along to ease the tension like he did on Tuesday.

After the ball clanked against the right-field wall, he made his José Ramírez strut back toward the dugout. In the middle of his stride, he realized Gaddis’ work for the day was done and quickly turned around, almost forgetting to acknowledge his teammate.

He yelled: “Good work, bro!”