KANSAS CITY -- It’s risky enough to attempt to steal home at any point in the game. It’s even more daring in extra innings. But when José Ramírez knows he can do something, he usually puts it into practice.
For the first time in his big league career, Ramírez stole home in the 10th inning of Cleveland’s 4-3 loss to Kansas City. The Guardians haven’t seen a player steal home in extra innings since at least 1974, the year steals of home began being tracked according to the Radar360 database.
This was the first time a Guardians player pulled off the feat in any inning since Leonys Martin did so on June 15, 2019, against the Tigers. Ramírez was just the eighth player in AL/NL history to steal home in extra innings, but the third to do so in Kauffman Stadium (George Brett, 1976 and Jeff Cirillo, 1998).
But how does a rare play like this manifest? Let’s try to get inside Ramírez’s head as he decided to break for home.
Ramírez began the 10th inning as Cleveland’s automatic runner at second base. When Josh Naylor recorded the first out on a ground ball to second, Ramírez moved up to third base with Josh Bell coming to the plate.
That’s when Ramírez started analyzing Royals southpaw Aroldis Chapman. In four pitches to Bell, Ramírez studied how slowly Chapman picked up his right leg as he started his delivery. He started to get the idea that stealing home was possible. He just didn’t want to do it with Bell at the plate.
“There was one out,” Ramírez said through team interpreter Agustin Rivero. “I could’ve scored with a sacrifice fly. So, I just gave him a chance. I had it in my mind since then.”
But when Bell struck out and there were two outs on the board with a lefty hitter in Andrés Giménez coming to the plate, that’s when Ramírez knew it was time to pounce.
With the extra-inning rule that sends a runner to second base to start each inning, teams know it’s crucial to at least plate that run. When the away club doesn’t get at least one run on the board in extras, it knows it’s chances of winning plummets. Ramírez knows this, too.
“Knowing they were gonna start the next inning with a runner on second and I know with two outs and a lefty hitting against Chapman, that’s really hard to hit,” Ramírez said. “So, I just took a chance, knowing the situation.”
Ramírez was patient in taking that chance. He watched the first strike get called. He watched another pitch get fouled off. He then watched a sinker get called for a ball. But before Chapman released the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Ramírez was sliding down the third-base line.
With a lefty hurler, his back is to the runner at third. When Chapman wasn’t peeking over at Ramírez, he decided to take advantage of each inch he could to scoot closer and closer to home plate. By the time Chapman started his delivery, Ramírez was halfway down the line. That’s when he broke in a dead sprint for home.
“I mean, he’s a great player,” Guardians temporary manager DeMarlo Hale said. “With his timing and he’s seeing how slow he was, a left-handed hitter up with [Giménez]. … He’s not afraid to play the game with his instincts. If he sees an advantage, he [takes] it.”
From start to finish, Ramírez’s decision-making was excellent. But his dive into the plate may have been the impressive part of the play. He stayed on the inside of the line and contorted his body around backstop Salvador Perez’s mitt. He was able to slide his right hand across the top corner of the plate, avoiding the tag. Although he was ruled out on the field, he knew immediately that he was safe. After a crew chief review, the ruling was overturned and Cleveland’s dugout erupted in cheers.
At the moment, it was a game-saving play. Giménez ended up striking out to end the inning and Cleveland turned the ball over to closer Emmanuel Clase to earn the save. Instead, the Guardians lost on a walk-off, two-run double. A frustrating loss after such a momentous play by Ramírez.
But the loss certainly won’t overshadow the risky moves he made to keep his team in the game.
“There’s not many guys that can do that,” said Guardians starter Shane Bieber, who tossed six scoreless innings. “We rely on him in so many different ways and for him to come up again in a different type of way to do it, he’s a hell of a player.”