Aramis Ramírez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chicago Cubs — No. 16 | |
| Third base | Born: June 25 1978 |
|---|---|
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| May 26, 1998 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | Selected MLB statistics (through 2007) |
| Batting average | .283 |
| Home runs | 222 |
| Runs batted in | 770 |
| Teams | |
| |
Aramis Nin Ramírez (born June 25, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. Ramírez has also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1998-2003).[1]. He is a cousin of Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramírez. On November 12, 2006, Ramírez signed a five-year deal with the Cubs with an option for 2011.
Contents |
[edit] MLB Career
[edit] Early Years with Pirates
Ramírez was signed as a 16-year-old free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates on November 7, 1994[1]. On May 26, 1998, he made his major league debut with the Pirates at the age of 19, and was the youngest player in baseball at the time[2].
Ramírez struggled in his first three seasons while showing great potential, and split his time between the Pirates and Triple-A Nashville Sounds[3]. In 2001, Ramírez hit 34 home runs and had 112 RBI to go along with a .300 average and stayed with the major league team the entire season[3]. That year, however, he came second-to-last in errors (25) and last in fielding percentage (.945) among all Major League third basemen.[4]He also had the lowest zone rating in the National League (.745). His performance dipped in 2002, as he batted .234 with just 18 home runs. On April 17 of that season, he was ejected from a game in Milwaukee after charging the mound and throwing his batting helmet at Ben Sheets[3]. This earned him a suspension from April 23-30[3].
[edit] 2003 - Trade to Cubs
Ramírez was traded on to the Chicago Cubs along with outfielder Kenny Lofton on July 23, 2003[1]. Ramírez finished the 2003 season strong in Chicago, though he led the majors with 33 errors at third base -- 50% more than the next most error-prone third baseman, Eric Hinske. He also had the lowest fielding percentage of all Major League third basemen (.929). The Cubs made the playoffs and defeated the favored Atlanta Braves, before being beaten by the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins in a seven-game NLCS. In the series against the Marlins, Ramírez hit three home runs and had seven RBIs in 26 at-bats[3].
[edit] 2004 Season
Ramírez played extremely well during the 2004 season and led the Cubs in hitting and RBI for most of the season despite nursing a sore hamstring. Cubs former manager Dusty Baker considered Ramírez one of the key ingredients in the Cubs' failed drive for the playoffs. That was strong praise on a team that includes stars the likes of Derrek Lee, Nomar Garciaparra, Sammy Sosa, Moises Alou, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux, and Carlos Zambrano.
On September 16, 2004, Ramírez became the 14th player in Major League history to have two games with three home runs in a season when he hit three homers against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. His other three-home run game came against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30 at Wrigley Field. On defense, however, his range factor of 2.26 was the lowest among all Major League third basemen[4].
[edit] 2005 Season
In 2005, he was named to his first All-Star game, where he started after National League third basemen Scott Rolen, who had the most votes at the position, pulled out due to injury concerns[5]. Ramírez finished the 2005 season on the disabled list after straining his quadriceps on August 24, yet still completed the season with 31 home runs and 92 RBIs. On defense, his range factor of 2.54 was the lowest among Major League third basemen for the second straight year,[4]. He also had the lowest zone rating in the league (.756).
[edit] 2006 Season
In 2006, Ramírez hit 38 home runs while driving in 119 runs. He collected his 1000th hit on July 15 versus the New York Mets[6]. On defense, however, his range factor of 2.41 was the lowest among Major League third basemen for the third straight year[4]. After the season, he was listed as being potentially the biggest free agent in the market with the obvious exception of Alfonso Soriano. In addition to the Cubs, the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Los Angeles Dodgers appeared most interested in his services. However, Ramírez elected to stay with the Cubs, agreeing to a reported 5 year, $73 million contract on November 12, 2006.
[edit] 2007 Season
Aramis hit his 200th career home run off Claudio Vargas on April 23, 2007. On June 29, 2007, Ramírez ended a crucial game against the Milwaukee Brewers with a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the 9th to cap a five-run comeback win for the Chicago Cubs. This game has been widely viewed as a turning point in the season. Even though the Cubs were still 6.5 games out of first place at the time, it extended their win streak to a season-high seven games.
The Cubs would go on to win the 2007 National League Central division, thanks in large part to Ramírez, whose 101 RBIs led the team. He also finished second on the Cubs in home runs (26) and batting average (.310). The divisional title came only after battling it out with Milwaukee for the final month of September. Ramírez was one of the main reasons of the Cubs' resurgence in September, batting .287 with 8 home runs and 21 RBI that month. He played crucial roles in Cubs' victories against the St. Louis Cardinals on September 10 with 2 home runs and 12 total bases and against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 21 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI. Unfortunately, however, Ramírez failed to contribute to the Cubs' offense in post-season play, going 0 for 12 with 5 strikeouts while leaving 11 on base.
In addition to his offensive contributions, Ramírez made great strides to improve his defensive game in 2007, as he lowered his error total and improved his range factor for the third consecutive year.
Some Cubs fans refer to Ramírez as "Rami", "Rammy", or "A-Ram", the last of which being an adaptation of the nickname of Yankee's third baseman Alex Rodriguez, or "A-Rod".
[edit] Third Base Legacy with Cubs
Between 1960 and 1973, the Cubs relied on All-Star Ron Santo as the everyday third baseman[2]. In the following thirty years, 97 different players started at third for the Cubs, including 18 different starters on Opening Day[2]. Ramírez has started the last four seasons at third, and with the long-term contract appears to have ended the stretch of ambiguity at the position[2]
[edit] See also
- List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- List of players from Dominican Republic in MLB
- Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Aramis Bio Page, Baseball-Reference.com, Retrieved on August 17, 2007
- ^ a b c d Mayer, Larry, A case for the defense, Chicago Vineline, Vol. 22, No. 8
- ^ a b c d e Aramis Ramírez Bio, 2005 Chicago Cubs Information Guide, page 137.
- ^ a b c d Aramis Bio on BB Cube, BaseballCube.com, Retrieved on August 17, 2007
- ^ MLB.com Bio, MLB.com, Retrieved on August 17, 2007
- ^ Aramis Ramírez Bio, Chicago Cubs 2007 Information Guide, page 141.
- Aramis Ramírez' career statistics at ESPN.com
Chicago Cubs current roster |
|---|
1 Kosuke Fukudome |
2 Ryan Theriot |
3 Eric Patterson |
4 Neal Cotts |
5 Ronny Cedeño |
7 Mark DeRosa |
9 Jake Fox |
12 Alfonso Soriano |
16 Aramis Ramírez |
17 Mike Fontenot |
19 Matt Murton |
20 Félix Pie |
21 Jason Marquis |
24 Henry Blanco |
25 Derrek Lee |
30 Ted Lilly |
32 Daryle Ward |
34 Kerry Wood |
36 Sean Gallagher |
37 Ángel Guzmán |
38 Carlos Zambrano |
43 Michael Wuertz |
45 Sean Marshall |
46 Ryan Dempster |
47 Scott Eyre |
49 Carlos Marmol |
50 Jeff Samardzija |
51 Juan Mateo |
53 Rich Hill |
55 Kevin Hart |
56 Billy Petrick |
57 Sam Fuld |
58 Geovany Soto |
62 Bob Howry |
63 Carmen Pignatiello |
-- José Ascanio |
-- Adam Harben |
-- Tim Lahey
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