José Ramírez is already a Cleveland Guardians legend, and fans will surely love him even more after his latest comments.
“I have the same sense of pride from Cleveland that they have in the D.R.,” he told reporters Thursday. “I’m 50% Dominican, 50% Clevelander. My sons were born here so I take that pride of the city and what it represents to me.”
Tim Stebbins of MLB.com noted the comments came after Ramírez and the Guardians agreed to a new seven-year, $175 million contract extension that will run through the 2032 campaign. That will be the 33-year-old’s 20th season in Cleveland, and it seems like he will play his entire career in the city he takes so much pride in as a player.
While he was previously under contract through 2028, he explained his love for being in Cleveland served as motivation for the new contract.
“There’s a lot of discussions about the nature of this contract and why this contract happened,” Ramírez said. “But for me, it’s important to be here. This is where my family is and where I want to be. And most importantly, [it’s] where I look forward to completing my career.”
That is surely exactly what Guardians fans want to hear from the seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger.