CLEVELAND \u2014 Terry Turner was born in Sandy Lake, Pa., on Feb. 28, 1881. He debuted for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1901, spent a few years with the Columbus Senators of the American Association, and then landed in Cleveland, where he became a big-league staple.<\/p>\n
Turner played in Cleveland for 15 years and appeared in a franchise record 1,619 games, the last of which came on Sept. 1, 1918.<\/p>\n
More than a century later, a guy born in Ban\u00ed, Dominican Republic, on Sept. 17, 1992, will break that record. When he jogs to his station at third base on Monday evening, Ram\u00edrez will begin his 1,620th game, all in a Cleveland uniform.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow freaking cool is that?\u201d said first baseman Rhys Hoskins.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne hundred twenty-five years of (Cleveland) baseball, and how freaking lucky am I to be a part of that guy\u2019s career, just along for the ride?\u201d said reliever Erik Sabrowski. \u201cI can\u2019t wrap my head around that.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the franchise leaderboards, Ram\u00edrez ranks second in homers, third in doubles, seventh in hits, second in RBIs and ninth in walks.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single one,\u201d said catcher David Fry, \u201cit\u2019s just, \u2018Jos\u00e9 passes some guy with seven names from 1842.\u2019 Everybody\u2019s in black-and-white pictures. He\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Ram\u00edrez, the five players in team history with the most games played were born in 1881 (Turner), 1874 (Nap Lajoie), 1917 (Lou Boudreau), 1920 (Jim Hegan) and 1888 (Tris Speaker). Ram\u00edrez will be the only active player in the majors to lead their franchise in games played.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf all the records,\u201d Ram\u00edrez said, \u201cI feel like that\u2019s one of the most important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before first pitch Sunday, Ram\u00edrez collected the hardware for his sixth Silver Slugger Award. He\u2019s a seven-time All-Star. He has six top-five finishes in the American League MVP balloting, plus a sixth-place finish and a 10th-place finish.<\/p>\n
Every day, it seems, there\u2019s a new milestone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a Tuesday,\u201d Sabrowski said. \u201cIt\u2019s another day of Jos\u00e9 doing something no one else can do and probably no one else will. \u2026 If they haven\u2019t started building the statue yet, what are we waiting for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Game 1: The shoeless 20-year-old<\/p>\n
Terry Francona\u2019s bunch needed a September surge to make a playoff push. On Sept. 1, 2013, the club promoted a 20-year-old Ram\u00edrez from Double A to serve primarily as a pinch-runner. All he had to do was be fearless on the bases. To do that, he needed shoes.<\/p>\n
Ram\u00edrez forgot his cleats for his debut, so he had to borrow from the Detroit Tigers\u2019 clubhouse staff, and the white pair they gave him was two sizes too big. He replaced Carlos Santana as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning of a scoreless game and trotted home on Mike Aviles\u2019 grand slam.<\/p>\n
That month, Clevelanders got their first glimpse of the guy who, 13 years later, ranks second in team history in stolen bases and third in runs scored.<\/p>\n
Game 41: The first long ball<\/p>\n
Ram\u00edrez was initially considered an aspiring utility infielder and a placeholder at shortstop until Francisco Lindor\u2019s arrival. On Aug. 9, 2014, he socked his first big-league homer off Brandon McCarthy at Yankee Stadium. He went 3-for-4 that afternoon, his first of six three-hit games and 15 multi-hit games the rest of the way, as he found his major-league footing.<\/p>\n
Game 464: The extra-base-hit machine<\/p>\n
On Sept. 3, 2017, Ram\u00edrez went 5-for-5 with three doubles and two homers, tying a major-league record with five extra-base hits, to fuel Cleveland\u2019s 11th straight win \u2014 halfway along their march to an American League record 22 in a row. Ram\u00edrez was the 10th player to collect five extra-base hits; six others have since matched the record. He had help on both homers. Left fielder Mikie Mahtook couldn\u2019t cleanly field a carom with his bare hand after the ball bounced off the wall, and he knocked it over the fence. Right fielder Alex Presley couldn\u2019t squeeze the second homer, and it rolled out of his glove and over the wall.<\/p>\n
During the winning streak, Ram\u00edrez had two other games in which he went 4-for-4, including win No. 22. \u201cIn that 2016-2017 time,\u201d said Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, \u201cit was like, \u2018How do you get this guy out? There\u2019s just no good way.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Game 768: The triumphant (and expedited) return<\/p>\n
Ram\u00edrez broke his hamate bone in late August 2019. He was expected to miss five to seven weeks, but he was back in the lineup in one month, in time for the final week of the season as the club jockeyed with the A\u2019s and Rays for a wild-card spot. That injury tends to sap hitters of their power for a while, but Ram\u00edrez smacked a grand slam and a three-run homer in his first two trips to the plate upon his return. He tacked on another homer the following night.<\/p>\n
Game 823: The playoff clincher<\/p>\n
Ram\u00edrez\u2019s best chance to win an MVP award came in 2020, when he finished runner-up to Jos\u00e9 Abreu after a pandemic-shortened season. Ram\u00edrez\u2019s lasting highlight from that abbreviated season, though, was a walk-off, three-run homer on Sept. 20 against Abreu\u2019s White Sox that secured Cleveland a playoff berth. Francona, who was away from the team to deal with health issues, heard the fireworks from his downtown apartment before the broadcast showed the home run. The Guardians\u2019 brass walked over to his residence after the game with celebratory drinks.<\/p>\n
That September, Ram\u00edrez had nine doubles, 10 homers, 11 walks and only 10 strikeouts, as he posted a 1.294 OPS.<\/p>\n
Game 893: The master of chaos<\/p>\n
Ram\u00edrez homered in his first at-bat on June 16, 2021. Then, he flaunted the other side of his game. If you glance at a box score, you\u2019ll be puzzled. Baseball Reference reads: Ram\u00edrez recorded a \u201csingle to RF,\u201d two runs scored, \u201cRam\u00edrez to 3B.\u201d Wait, huh? How? It\u2019s one of those sequences you need to watch to believe \u2014 or even understand.<\/p>\n
With runners on second and third, Ram\u00edrez lined a two-run single to right. The throw to the plate was cut off on the infield as the Orioles caught Ram\u00edrez in a rundown. He backtracked toward first, then scooted away from a couple of infielders to slide safely into second as his helmet came dislodged. He popped to his feet and noticed the third baseman was nowhere near the bag, so he dashed another 90 feet.<\/p>\n
Game 1,137, sort of: The October blast<\/p>\n
Playoff games don\u2019t count toward Ram\u00edrez\u2019s total, so it\u2019s worth noting he has appeared in 45 of those as well. He hasn\u2019t compiled a ton of memorable postseason moments. Still, he muscled a game-winning homer to center during a masterful pitcher\u2019s duel between Shane McClanahan and Shane Bieber in Game 1 of the 2022 Wild Card series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t play against him for a few years there just because I was in the National League,\u201d Vogt said, \u201cand coming back and seeing him in 2022, it wasn\u2019t fair. There was nowhere to get him out. There were no holes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unmistakably goated. \ud83d\udc10#ForTheLand<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/J5MxVYwPk3<\/a><\/p>\n