Jose Ramirez Approaches Milestones in Illustrious Career
Jose Ramirez eyes the elite 40-40 Club, cementing his status as one of MLB's top third basemen. Jack McMullen and Aram Leighton discuss his greatness.
Video Transcript
I wanna get into the first one, and it pertains to one of the best players that we have seen in this generation.
Jose Ramirez is approaching these amazing, amazing milestones over the course of his career.
The Cleveland Guardians' third baseman has been the best third baseman in baseball for quite some time, and that's body of work, that's year over year.
J-Ram entering play on Tuesday is at 291 career home runs and 297 career stolen bases.
Nine homers, three stolen bases away, he would become just the second infielder ever to do that.
The only other one, A-Rod.
Thank you very much, Peyton Gene's Big League Analysis.
But the take I have for you, Jose Ramirez over the course of his career has flirted with an elusive club, and he has never entered.
He has never had the velvet rope lifted up, and he has gotten in.
In 2018 as a 25-year-old, J-Ram hit 39 homers and stole 34 bases.
In 2021, 36 homers, 27 bases, but he's gotten closer and closer.
In 2024, 39 home runs and 41 stolen bases.
In 2025, 30 homers, 44 stolen bases.
Jose Ramirez through 24 games has hit six homers, and he's 10 for 10 in the stolen base department.
He is the only guy at double digits stolen bases in Major League Baseball so far this season.
So Aram Leighton, the first take I have for you today is that this is finally the year that Jose Ramirez joins the 40/40 club.
Your thoughts?
Yeah, I think i- if we're going like hot take theater, this should be like the low I know, I know we're not chronologically going in order, and I don't know if chronological is even the right word there, but I don't know if we're going in order from low, medium to high.
Severity, yeah.
Severity, yeah.
This, this, I, I'm with you.
'Cause I think the, the big variable here, so doing the new stolen base rules, really, since, since we've adjusted those sides of things, like J-Ram looks like he's pretty auto for 40 or at least, you know, is gonna have the intent or if he's close enough.
You can go get the bags when you're close.
You can't just go get the homers when you're close to 40/40.
Right.
So the biggest thing is the homers.
And, you know, I, I think the question would be, you know, when you look at, you average out the last four seasons, odds are he'd be a little bit shy in the home run department.
But he's off to such a good start this year that I think it really catapults him into a position here where he can go do it.
And again, we talk about the lineup.
It's better than it's been in recent years, little bit more protection here all of a sudden.
I feel weird calling a rookie like Chase DeWater protection, but just even like a Brian Rocchio swinging it better and getting on base at a way higher clip.
Just guys, more traffic is good for J-Ram.
I think he does it.
I think he does it.
I'm with you.
I, I like that call-out.
Yeah.
I, I don't know.
I'm just looking at Jose Ramirez and I'm thinking, "You are going to hunt corners."
And he's at the point in his career where like, okay, he may not be getting into the crazy exit velocities and he still will get into really solid EVs, but I, I don't I'm just looking at him aging like fine wine.
J-Ram is 33 years old.
He turns 34 on September 17th, so he's 33 for practically the whole entire year.
But Jose Ramirez, it just seems like he is mastering angles right now, and what he does year over year is incredible to me, man.
I mean an 850 OPS at the outset this year, but 863 in '25, 872 in '24, 831 in 2023.
He's got a career 857 OPS, and every single freaking season he's right around that number.
He's the most consistent player in baseball, I think.
100%.
And, and he's just so much fun to watch.
I think the coolest thing too is he would be the oldest player to join the 40/40 club.
Barry Bonds was 32- Whoa if I'm not mistaken.
So, that's another really cool wrinkle at, at 33, 'cause this would be his age 33 season, right?
Yeah.
I mean, he'll be 34 by the end of it.
Jose would be the, the oldest to join that 40/40 club, which is a very honestly athletic-driven club, given that you have to go get 40 bags.
Yeah.
How many other guys do you feel like in baseball right now can threaten with the 40/40 club this year?
I mean, Bobby Witt Jr. has, what, nine bags at this point, but he may not even get to the home run output right now.
No.
There are very few stars and superstars in Major League Baseball that have 40/40 capabilities.
and the guys that do, a lot of them are off to really slow starts.
Yeah.
Honestly, the other one that I would give you, like best shot from me, Ellie De La Cruz in Cincinnati.
That's the other one alongside J-Ram that I'm saying like, "You have a legit shot at 40/40 right now."
And O'Neal Cruz would probably be the ugliest.
Cruz.
That's, that's I'm so harsh, but like the weirdest 40/40 we've ever seen.
Yeah.
Yeah.
'Cause I, I would go Tatis.
Tatis doesn't have a homer yet, so like it's gonna be tough for him.
I think it's Ellie, especially with the right side coming along the way that it has.
And the only other guy that I think could do it without a problem, even starting behind the eight ball, is Ronald Acua Jr.
He, he could just have- Sure two months and pretty much close the gap.
But yeah, I think Jazz would've been a call-out.
He has zero homers.
So I, I think it's Bobby, I think it's O'Neal, and then I think it's Ellie De La Cruz, and those are the only guys that I think have a, a very realistic shot this year.
Really cool note from Peyton here.
Peyton.
The only players to have 300 or more homers and 300 or more stolen bases in their career by the end of their age 33 season, so effectively by age the quickest guys to do it, Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonds.
Jose Ramirez is a shoo-in to meet them and join that club.
That is crazy to think about.
