Hot-hitting J-Ram also starring on defense for Guardians

This story was excerpted from Tim Stebbins’ Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CLEVELAND — José Ramírez’s fielding came under the spotlight early on this season, as the historically steady Guardians third baseman committed a rash of errors in April. Two months later, Ramírez has proven that any concerns about his glovework were greatly exaggerated.

“His season got off to a rocky start defensively,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “But man, has he been great the last two months. I don’t know if there’s a better third baseman defensively in baseball right now.”

There haven’t been many, if any, much better. Ramírez committed four errors over a seven-game span from April 1-9, and he finished March/April with -5 Outs Above Average (second worst among third basemen). Since May, he’s recorded +5 OAA (entering Saturday), which was tied with Pittsburgh’s Ke’Bryan Hayes for best among third basemen.

Ramírez dealt with a right wrist sprain in April, which he suffered in the second game of the season. Whether that played into his early troubles, it’s no surprise he has gotten on track. He’s a six-time Gold Glove Award finalist (2017-18, ’21-24) and works hard at that side of the game. Earning that honor is a career goal of his.

“That’s something I want to do,” Ramírez said through interpreter Agustin Rivero. “But to be honest, to be nominated six times, that’s enough for me to be a little bit happy about. But I obviously want to make sure that I win at some point too.”

Not only has Ramírez come close to winning a Gold Glove, he’s done so at third base, which wasn’t his natural position in the Minors. He made his pro debut there in 2013, the same season he reached the Majors. He then played multiple positions (second, third, shortstop and left field) over his first few big league seasons following his Sept. 1, 2013, MLB debut.

Since 2018, his first season as a full-time third baseman, Ramírez ranks fifth in the Majors in OAA (28, entering Saturday) at the position. That doesn’t make his production over at third a surprise, however.

“The character traits that make him a great baserunner and hitter, they show up on defense as well,” said Kai Correa, the Guardians’ field coordinator and director of defense, strategy and baserunning.

Correa noted there are two components to that idea. First, Ramírez is “immensely prepared,” Correa said. He makes plays because he is in the proper position to do so, based on him knowing where opponents often hit the ball and where Cleveland pitchers give up hits. He knows who bunts and who doesn’t.

Second is the prep work and drills Ramírez does before games to prepare himself for any balls that could be hit his way. He trains with difficult drills to expose himself to high velocity and short reaction time, and he constantly seeks feedback in an effort to get better.

“That passion for preparation, it shows up on all sides of the ball,” Correa said.

There’s of course a high level of baseball IQ needed to play defense as well as Ramírez does, alongside a thorough amount of prep work. Combined, you get the Gold Glove Award-worthy plays Ramírez continues to make.

In the fifth inning vs. the Yankees on Wednesday, Ramírez charged in to backhand a chopper hit by Anthony Volpe. He fired a perfect strike on the run to Kyle Manzardo to record the out.

One inning later, Ramírez was shifted toward where a shortstop typically stands. With a runner on first base and no outs, he gathered a Ben Rice grounder, raced to second base to record a force out, and then threw out Rice on the run to record a double play.

Ramírez’s bat is getting a lot of attention this season, and rightfully so. He’s well on his way to securing his seventh career All-Star nod after recording a career-high 21-game hitting streak in May. He extended his on-base streak to a career-long 33 games on Saturday, when he also crushed a game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning.

But plays such as Wednesday’s in New York are also demonstrative of how much Ramírez impacts winning for Cleveland. And he prides himself on the all-around player that he is.

“[Defense is] really important,” Ramírez said. “Sometimes defense is the reason why you can stay closer in games and help win games. We work a lot every day to try to make it as good as we can. Defense is also as important as hitting.”