There have been numerous impact players in the American League this year.
You could argue, however, that no one is more valuable to his team than Jose Ramirez is to the Cleveland Guardians.
He is, by far, the best and most consistent player on the Guards and is having another majestic campaign.
Will it be enough for him to be seriously considered for the AL MVP award?
It will be hard, but the numbers and the intangibles are both there.
The problem is that J-Ram is more of an underrated star than a vocal, flamboyant athlete.
This situation might have an impact on how he is perceived around the league.
In fact, most of the folks at Foul Territory took a few seconds to even guess it was Ramirez when one of them presented the question of who else could finish with a 40-40 season besides Shohei Ohtani.
Should Jose Ramirez be getting more MVP consideration? #FTLive debates!@BallySportsCLE @CleGuardians pic.twitter.com/KOMPzjA5aG
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 3, 2024
It’s a knock on the analysts; by any means.
It’s just that Ramirez isn’t a big name and many fans outside of Cleveland don’t appreciate his greatness.
The stats, however, speak for themselves.
He has 34 home runs and 34 stolen bases before Tuesday’s game, with a .860 OPS, 101 runs, 31 doubles, and 105 RBI.
He is on pace for his first 40-40 campaign and that might not be enough to land him a top-three MVP finish.
Right now, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees is the heavy favorite, and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals isn’t far behind.
Ramirez has a chance to keep getting closer to them in the MVP race with multiple weeks left, but Juan Soto, Jarren Duran and Gunnar Henderson are also right up there.
MVP or not, J-Ram is having one of the finest seasons of his career and that, for the Guardians, means the world.
NEXT: Guardians Duo Achieves Exciting Run-Producing Feat In Key Win
