Jose Ramrez - GOAT Thoughts

 Look, any fan of the Cleveland Indians who has only been following the team closely for the last 10 years is likely to come to the same conclusion: Jose Ramirez is probably THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME for the Cleveland baseball team.  Watching him play tells me that understands the game, understands himself, leads by example, leads by what he says and, of course, produces.

In another era Jose Ramrez would have just been one of the guys.  Imagine a lineup with Thome, Belle, Many Ramirez, Lofton, Vizquel. You could make an argument that Jose would have been lost in the crowd in that group, producing greatly but having his MVP votes diluted by his star teammates.  You could also argue that having the protection of Thome, Belle and Manny would have bloated his stats and taken some of the pressure off of him to produce EVERY time he came up.  

Simple truth is that Jose Ramirez is a great, very likeable and very loyal player for the CLeveland Guardians.  He is a baseball player's baseball player.  He is, as close as I have seen, an old-school baseball player.  In the era of flashy players the equivalent of the 3-and-D stars of the NBA, he is Larry Bird...with speed.  Looking at it through the lens of the present, he appears to be a true candidate for Cleveland;s GOAT.

So I wanted to take a look at the stats and, assuming we extend his contract one more time and he finishes his career with the Guardians, see where he could likely end up statistically.   This listing will not include anything with percentages (batting average, OPS, etc.) and will just include simple numric records.

STOLEN BASES

Leaders: Lofton (452), Vizquel (279), Ramirez (178)

Thoughts: No way Jose catches Lofton but, if he stays healthy and in Cleveland, he should catch Vizquel and end his career in second place in Cleveland stolen bases, not too shabby for a power hitter.

HOME RUNS

Leaders:Jim Thome (337), Albert Belle (242) Manny Ramirez (236), Jose Ramirez (194)

Thoughts: Jose just needs to remain healthy and stay in Cleveland and he should end his career as the all-time Cleveland home run leader.  

HITS

Leaders: Lajoie (2047), Speaker (1965), Averill (1903), Sewell (1800), Jamieson (1753), Boudreau (1706), Ramirez (1175)

Thoughts: Just like with home runs, Ramirez, with health, longevity in Cleveland and protection in the lineup, should end up in 7 years as the all-time hits leader in Cleveland.  

WALKS

Leaders: Thome (1008), Carlos Santana (881), Speaker (857), Boudreau (766), Ramirez (485)

Thoughts: 

EXTRA BASE HITS

Leaders: Averill (724), Speaker (667), Thome (620), Ramirez (523)

Thoughts: Jose has averaged about 50 XBH a year for his career.  Everything stayiing the same, he should obliterate this record and become the leader in about 4 years.

RUNS BATTED IN

Leaders: Averill (1084), Thome (937), Lajoie (919), Trotsky (911)... Ramirez (678)

Thoughts: Another record that Jose should shatter during his current contract and, if he stays long-term, set one that could last for a long time.  

RUNS

Leaders: Averill (1154), Speaker (1078), Lofton (975), Jameison (944), Thome (928, VIzquel (906)...Ramirez (707)

Thoughts:  After this season Jose will be around 400 runs behind Averill.  He would need probably 5 teams to pass Averill which is doable within his current contract.

DOUBLES

Leaders: Speaker (486), Lajoie (424)...Ramirez (295)

Thoughts: It may not seem like that much but at this point in his career getting another 191 doubles is not guaranteed.  If he averages 35 doubles a year it will still take him 5+ years to break that record, and that production rate is not guaranteed as he gets older.   He might have to spend his entire career in Cleveland to break that record.

INTENTIONAL WALKS

Leaders: Jim Thome (87), Travis Hafner (78), Ramirez (58)

Thoughts: Heck, Ramirez may break this record this year.   A lot of this depends on the protection around him and the hitters in front of him.  Unless you are Barry Bonds you don't get walked intentionally unless first base is open and there are guys on other bases.  This stat is so variable and so dependent on the players around you and the situation (e.g., guys generally don't get intentionally walked when their team is trailing 10-2 or leading 10-2) these numbers can vary widely from year to year.  He had 20 IBB last year but had only 10 the year before so maybe he makes it in 2 years or maybe it takes him 5 or more years.  

There are obviously a lot more numric categories to consider but the ones above show that with reasonable production on reasonably competitive teams and that he stays here most, if not all, of his career, he will retire holding most of the offensive career records for the Cleveland Guardians.

Will that make him our GOAT?  You can make a great case that it will.  Add a HOF election to these stats and I think that will cinch it, given all the years he was a top contender for MVP, even if he never wins one (heck Thome was in the top 6 in MVP voting only 2 years in his career!).