Ramirez chasing RBI record
Guardian leads league and in fewest games
Jose Ramirez isn’t just making his case for American League MVP. He’s also putting himself in a position to challenge the franchise’s single-season RBI record.
Ramirez filled up the stat sheet in Saturday’s 8-1 win over the Detroit Tigers, finishing with a home run, a triple and 5 RBIS, with all of that damage coming in the seventh inning or later. It brought his FWAR to 2.9 (meaning he has been worth 2.9 wins to his team over the average placement player), which is tied with Mike Trout for the lead in the American League.
It also gave him 48 RBIS, which leads the majors even though the Guardians have played the fewest games (42) due to eight postponements. A few of those games were rescheduled for later in the year.
Ramirez’s 48 RBIS in 42 games puts him on pace for 185 this season. He’s chasing Manny Ramirez, who holds the franchise record of 165 in 1999. And as Jose continues to rack up run-producing games, he’s beginning to threaten Manny’s record.
“It’s just a pleasure, and I hope people realize what they’re seeing,” manager Terry Francona said. “My goodness, he’s just so good. And he’s so smart. I don’t think people realize how smart he is. You can’t be doing what he’s doing — his baseball IQ is off the charts.”
Manny Ramirez broke the club record in 1999, and nobody and has come close since Juan Gonzalez drove in 140 runs in 2001. No Cleveland hitter has topped 120 since, though Jose Ramirez was on a 124-RBIS pace in the shortened 2020 season)\.
Jose Ramirez is the first with a real chance. His 185-RBI pace is only six off the MLB record pace of 191, set by Hack Wilson in 1930. It’s also tied for the third-most RBIS by a Cleveland hitter through the team’s first 42 games. Manny Ramirez had 56 through 42 games in 1999, Al Rosen had 49 in that span in 1954 and Earl Averill, like Jose Ramirez,
had 48.