Whether you are a die-hard baseball fan or simply live near Cleveland, Ohio, there is a likely chance you have heard of José Ramirez. But what makes José such a legend of Guardians baseball? While he is a truly incredible baseball player, José Ramirez leaves a legacy much larger than just the sport. It is his dedication to the city of Cleveland that makes Ramirez such a favorite player.
José Ramirez is in his 11th season playing for the Guardians. Currently, Ramirez leads the team in hits with a .279 batting average and an RBI of 71. Ramirez began his baseball career in the Dominican Prospect League where he was scouted to play for the Guardians and signed for them in 2009. Ramirez started out at the rookie level, but by 2013 he made his debut in the majors. His career took off from then as he has been featured on the MLB All-Star Team five times. Despite his incredible achievements, this Guardians third baseman remains most loved because of his dedication to Cleveland.
In the MLB, it is more than typical for players to leave their teams once their contracts are up in favor of those with higher pay and more perks. When José Ramirez’s contract went up, it was expected the star third baseman would leave. This, however, was not the case. Ramirez, who was offered millions to leave, stayed. His first contract was up in 2017, when he ended up signing a 4-year, $26 million contract to stay with the Guardians. Most recently, in 2022, Ramirez signed a contract to stay in Cleveland where he would earn $124 million over the course of at least five years, which means he would retire as a Guardian. If Ramirez had opted to be a free agent instead of staying in Cleveland, he could have made well over $200 million.
Ramirez’s devotion to the Cleveland Guardians and the city itself demonstrates this city’s strong, uplifting community. Oftentimes, Cleveland can be seen as a center of crime and danger–what does not often make the news is the happiness and love in the city. While Cleveland isn’t a perfect city, one thing is clear: Ramirez stayed for a reason. It was extremely evident that money was just a secondary thought for Ramirez when making his decision to retire from Cleveland. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Ramirez stated, “I just kept in mind that organizations are the ones that give you an opportunity when you’re a kid and they are the ones that enable you to become a professional player. So for me, I value a lot more having that opportunity to finalize my career and not only play for that team but finish my career with that organization that gave me a chance to be a player in the first place.”
Recently, Ramirez was involved in a player dispute on the baseball field. And while yes, Ramirez did engage in a physical fight, it can be viewed that Ramirez was not at all at blame for the fight as he hit clearly in self defense. As far as repercussions went, Ramirez was suspended for only three games, whereas his “opponent”, Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox, was given a six game suspension. This was the first instance Ramirez engaged in an in-game physical altercation, and Cleveland fans and players backed Ramirez in every way. His teammate Stephen Kwan took to Instagram, where he posted an image of Ramirez with boxing gloves. He captioned that image “1-0”, showing his support for his fellow Guardian.
The enthusiasm that José Ramirez displays is almost hard to believe with the world of sports the way it is today. Even outside of the baseball world, Ramirez proves himself to be an inspiration to others. Just recently, Ramirez partnered with the Cleveland Guardians Charities and donated a brand new youth baseball field to local boys and girls. What says the most about Ramirez’ uplifting views and personality was that six of Ramirez’ teammates came out to support him as his new field officially opened to the children. According to the official MLB website, a relatively new addition to the Guardians, Logan Allen, attended the event and spoke on his experiences with Ramirez so far. “He’s a legend… I think he’s just setting a good example for us young players of what you hope to do in the community as you grow to be the star that he’s become. I think that us being out there showing our support for him is a great way for us to hopefully take that as a memory and hopefully down the road, we’re able to do something similar.”
José Ramirez is a perfect example of what it means to be dedicated. Ramirez shows the way athletes should act towards their teams and how to commit to their cities. José Ramirez truly is Cleveland’s biggest fan.
