Guardians’ Jose Ramirez accomplishes rare feat, joins MLB’s elite group originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Cleveland Guardians beat the the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday to reach a season-high eight games over .500 and climb to just 2.5 games back in the American League wild card race.
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Tuesday night’s win was a back and forth contest that third baseman Jose Ramirez played a pivotal part in helping the Guardians win.
Ramirez went 2-for-5 with a double, RBI, stolen base and two runs scored. With his performance on Tuesday, Ramirez joined elite company in the MLB’s history books.
Jose Ramirez Accomplishes Rare Feat
Ramirez is in his 13th year of the MLB, and he’s put together a resume that will likely find himself in the Hall of Fame one day.
The Guardians’ veteran is a seven-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger. Ramirez has a career .279 average and .856 OPS, and has been in the Top 10 for MVP voting seven times, including the last five years, and finished third or better three times.
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On Tuesday night, Ramirez added to his resume with his 250th career stolen base. The Guardians’ star became one of just 25 players in MLB history to record 250 home runs and 250 stolen bases in their career, according to the MLB.
The list gets even shorter when you filter it though. Ramirez is the only primary third baseman to accomplish the feat. He’s just one of two switch-hitters (with Carlos Beltrán), and one of two active players, alongside Jose Altuve, to accomplish the feat.
Ramirez also celebrates his 33rd birthday today, making it even more impressive that he’s still performing at this high of a level. The Guardians’ star has hit 28 home runs and 78 RBI this year, and has been the motor that’s kept Cleveland running this season.
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The Guardians have won five straight and 10 of their last 11 games to make a run at the final AL wild card spot. The Guardians sit 2.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox and three games back of the Houston Astros with 12 games remaining.