Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez hadn’t hit a home run in the spring until Wednesday.
Technically, he broke his drought with a home run against Mexico’s World Baseball Classic team.
Official stats won’t count it, but we will go ahead and say he is officially on the board.
“José Ramírez with his first homer of the spring. (Today’s stats technically don’t count since it’s an exhibition game against a WBC team, but we’ll remember the homer anyway),” Guardians insider Mandy Bell tweeted.
José Ramírez with his first homer of the spring.
(Today’s stats technically don’t count since it’s an exhibition game against a WBC team, but we’ll remember the homer anyway.) pic.twitter.com/sv0Ylp4DmH
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) March 8, 2023
If there is a guy on the Guardians roster fans don’t need to worry about, it’s definitely Ramirez.
No matter how bad his spring numbers may look (this applies for every season, not just 2023), he can be counted on for All-Star performance in the games that do count.
Last year, he hit .280 with 90 runs scored, 29 homers, 126 RBI, 20 stolen bases, and a .869 OPS while playing almost half of the season with a bad thumb.
Not only that, but he has a career .857 OPS with excellent defense at both second and third base and burning speed.
He may not have the look of a feared slugger, but who said he has to be as big as David Ortiz to be an asset in the power department?
All he has needed is elite barrel control and feel for hard contact.
Those traits have taken him to elite status in MLB and will continue to do so for at least a few more years.
The Guardians’ hopes rest on what Ramirez can do this year.
Fortunately, there is a lot he can do to put them in a position to accumulate a lot of wins.
