José Ramírez’s numbers keep climbing, but the Guardians are seeing something bigger than the milestones
CLEVELAND, Ohio - José Ramírez added another line to a career ledger already packed with them Friday, and the Guardians’ younger players were right there watching it happen.
His sixth-inning homer against the Athletics was the 297th of his career. It also pushed him to career RBI No. 1,000, making him just the second player in franchise history to reach that total.
For Angel Martínez and Angel Genao, that kind of moment is more than a scoreboard note. It’s a front-row lesson in what the standard looks like.
“I recognize that my role in that situation, that I’m an example for them,” Ramírez said through Guardians interpreter Agustin Rivero. “So I have to set a good example and I try to play the game the right way for them to see what it’s like.”
Ramírez said Martínez and Genao have the talent to chase big numbers of their own one day.
“They just have to stay healthy and keep working hard,” Ramírez said.
The milestone homer also moved Ramírez into a tie with Rickey Henderson on baseball’s all-time home run list at 175th. And after stealing a base Friday, he now has 38 career games with both a homer and a steal, tying Henry Aaron, Andre Dawson, Gary Sheffield and Shohei Ohtani.
But in Stephen Vogt’s view, the bigger value for Cleveland’s young players may come in the stretches between the highlights.
Ramírez has been working through a season complicated by hand surgery, and the daily reality hasn’t always been clean or easy. Some days feel better than others. He keeps going anyway.
“He’s such a great example of how to play the game of baseball, how to work, how to prepare yourself every day,” Vogt said. “They’re getting to watch him go through a tough year for him and how he’s handling it.”
Vogt said Ramírez has pushed to stay on the field even when the Guardians believed he could use a day off.
“He wants to play every day,” Vogt said. “He wants to give us everything that he has on any given day. And we know that there’s days where he is not feeling good and he still goes out and gives 100% of what he has that day.”
That example has reached beyond Martínez and Genao.
Travis Bazzana, in his first major league season, said Ramírez’s game still runs on the same engine no matter what the numbers say.
“He plays hard,” Bazzana said. “He hustles down the line.
He goes to make plays and dives and throws it with all his might. There’s nothing that he lets up on.”
Bazzana said Ramírez’s effort hasn’t changed with age, money or accomplishments.
“His effort hasn’t tapered off,” Bazzana said. “So it gives this organization and everyone in this clubhouse confidence that he’s just going to keep going.”
Joey Cantillo sees that leadership up close too, and not just in the box score.
“The first person to pick me up after a bad day is Hosey,” Cantillo said. “He always goes out of his way to make sure he takes care of guys, which I don’t think people understand.”
Cantillo said Ramírez holds everyone to a high standard while still knowing when a teammate needs a boost.
“We’ve got a good group of guys,” Cantillo said, “and I think obviously that starts with Hosey kind of leading the way.”
Friday’s game gave Cleveland another example of why that matters. A day after his 34th birthday, Ramírez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a stolen base as the Guardians erased an early three-run deficit and beat the Athletics 5-3.
The win was Cleveland’s 18th in its last 27 games, the best winning percentage in baseball since Aug. 20.
Ramírez didn’t want to call RBI No. 1,000 a late birthday gift.
“Every day for me is a birthday because it’s a blessing to be alive,” he said.
He still has to manage the hand, and that means daily treatment as he works through whatever each day brings.
“You have to keep grinding,” Ramírez said.
For Martínez, Genao and the rest of the young players in the clubhouse, that may be the lesson that lasts longest - not just what Ramírez has already done, but the way he keeps showing up for whatever comes next.
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