300 steals! J-Ram 2nd to reach milestone in Cleveland franchise history

WEST SACRAMENTO -- Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti vividly remembers José Ramírez’s MLB debut. The then-20-year-old entered as a pinch-runner for Carlos Santana in the ninth inning on Sept. 1, 2013, and did not seem to lack confidence.

“When he took his first lead, he was, like, 30 feet off the base, or that's what it seemed,” Antonetti recalled recently. “And [former Cleveland manager Terry Francona] joked after the game that Hosey thinks he's invisible out there.

“He might still think he's invisible, but it's obviously served him well.”

Ramírez has put together a Hall of Fame résumé during his 14-year career, one which gained another major bullet point on Saturday. The 33-year-old stole his 300th career base in the Guardians’ 14-6 win over the A’s at Sutter Health Park.

Ramírez knocked a go-ahead two-run double off A’s lefty Jacob Lopez in the fifth inning. Two pitches later, he took off for third base and dove in safely with a headfirst slide.

Ramírez is only the second Cleveland player in franchise history with 300-plus career steals, joining Kenny Lofton (452). He is only the third primary third baseman (minimum 50 percent of games at the position) in the Modern Era (since 1900) with 300 steals, following Chone Figgins (341) and Hans Lobert (316).

Among active players, Ramírez is now one of four with 300-plus steals, following Starling Marte (361, entering Saturday), Jose Altuve (326) and Trea Turner (318). The Guardians’ third baseman now needs just nine home runs to become the ninth player in MLB history with 300 home runs and 300 steals in a career.

The 300-300 club features Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Andre Dawson, Carlos Beltrán, Bobby Bonds, Reggie Sanders and Steve Finley.