CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez entered exclusive company Monday night.
The Guardians’ all-star third baseman played in his 1,620th game, becoming Cleveland’s franchise leader in games played.
Ramírez not only surpassed Terry Turner’s mark, which stood more than 108 years, he became the only active player to lead his team in games played.
“Obviously it’s something fun to accomplish, but that’s not my ultimate goal with the team,” Ramírez said after going 0 for 2 with two walks in a 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
Before the sixth inning, when the game became official, Ramírez was saluted by the crowd at Progressive Field. He received the third-base bag from longtime Cleveland first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr.
Out of the 31 franchise leaders in games played, 21 are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente and Honus Wagner — both Hall of Famers — are tied at 2.433 games played.
“Those mean a lot because those are the two main things that I’m focused on — work to get to the Hall of Fame and also win a World Series,” Ramírez said through interpreter Agustin Rivero.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro — Cleveland’s assistant hitting coach from 2014 through ’17 — has always appreciated Ramírez’s consistent approach and routine to the game.
“He physically matured, that’s the one thing,” Quatraro said before the game. “In ’15 when he got sent down, he was swinging at everything. When he came back up, he was taking pitches and taking walks. And the next year, he started hitting for power.”
Ramírez made his major league debut on Sept. 1, 2013, as a pinch runner for Carlos Santana during the ninth inning of Cleveland’s game at Detroit. He has been part of six AL Central Division titles, including the 2016 World Series squad, which lost in seven games to the Chicago Cubs.
He is the only player in Cleveland’s 125-year franchise history to have at least 250 home runs and 250 stolen bases. He currently has 286 home runs and 289 stolen bases.
Ramírez leads the franchise in extra-base hits (729) and has 27 multihomer games. He ranks second in home runs, stolen bases, total bases (3,018), and RBIs (954), third in doubles (400) and seventh in hits (1,674).
Turner spent 15 of his 17 big league seasons with Cleveland from 1904 through ’18 and played in 1,619 games.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
