CLEVELAND -- We’ve long grown to realize the greatness of José Ramírez is not limited to one aspect of the game, but rather his all-around abilities on the baseball diamond. And yet, he’s raising the bar even for his stellar standard in the early going this season.
“He's one of the best players in the world,” Guardians starter Joey Cantillo said. “Getting to watch him play every day is something that I don't think any of us take for granted.”
Ramírez belted a pair of home runs on Sunday in the Guardians’ 8-4 win over the Orioles at Progressive Field as Cleveland secured the four-game series win. In doing so, the 33-year-old passed Earl Averill for sole possession of the second-most homers at home by a player in Cleveland franchise history, with 138. Jim Thome (184) ranks first.
Ramírez is always a threat to go deep, but we know he can impact the Guardians in multiple ways. Out of the gates this season, he’s also been dynamic on the base paths, racking up 10 steals to go along with six home runs. That start has put Ramírez in some exclusive company.
Since 1900, only eight other players have recorded 10-plus steals and five-plus homers through a team’s first 23 games. At 33, Ramírez is the oldest player on the list.
This has been a fitting start to the season for Ramírez, who is on the precipice of becoming only the ninth player in MLB history with 300 career homers and 300 career steals. He sat at 291 homers and 297 steals following Sunday’s game.
We know Ramírez is ultimately going to soar past that threshold in both categories. And for him, more important than the individual numbers is helping the Guardians win however he can.
“I think I set my standards a little higher than those numbers,” Ramírez said through interpreter Agustin Rivero when asked of the looming 300-300 milestone. “I know they're going to come up if we keep playing and doing the right things. For me, most importantly, it's trying to win.
“I know that when I'm doing those things, the team goes in a good way and I'm helping the team win.”
On a given day, that might be using his legs. Sunday, it was using his mighty bat.
Ramírez stepped to the plate in the fourth inning against Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers. He got a first-pitch four-seam fastball and hit it a Statcast-projected 408 feet over the 19-foot wall in left field, to break a scoreless tie. Ramírez struck again in the fifth inning. He hit a 1-1 changeup from Rogers a projected 379 feet, tucking it inside the left-field foul pole.
Ramírez’s first homer jumpstarted a four-run fourth inning for the Guardians. Baltimore responded immediately by plating four runs in the top of the fifth inning, and Ramírez answered right back by hitting his second home run of the day. He stuck to his approach and remained ready for the fastball, perhaps a credit to both big swings.
“I feel like I have to stick to my approach,” said Ramírez, whose 28 career multi-homer games are two more than anyone else in Cleveland history. “Thanks to the experience that I have in this game, I can anticipate a little bit what the attack is going to be.
“I’m always going to stay committed to my strengths. I’m always going to be ready for the fastball and able to execute it.”
Averill scattered his 126 home runs between League Park and Cleveland Stadium, while Thome hit his 184 between Cleveland Stadium and what is now known as Progressive Field, which has been Ramírez's lone home ballpark.
Ramírez is on his way toward surpassing Thome’s mark. The same can be said about Thome’s franchise home run record of 337. In the meantime, the Guardians are enjoying days such as Sunday, when history corresponds with a victory.
“It's just another day for Hosey,” catcher Austin Hedges said. “Obviously, we're impressed, but we're all like, ‘Yeah, we've seen it so many times.’ That's what we expect out of him. That's what he expects out of himself.’
“We know we're gonna have a handful of games this year where he just puts us on his shoulders and wins the game for us. Today was just one of those.”