Former Player Has Generational Praise For Jose Ramirez

As if there was ever a doubt, Jose Ramirez is coming out of his early-season slump and showing once again why he is among the best players in Major League Baseball. The Cleveland Guardians star seems to be making some kind of history in every game he plays, and he is setting himself up to make even more as the season moves along.

Earlier this year, Ramirez set the Cleveland franchise record for games played, breaking a mark that had stood for more than 100 years. He also just set the franchise record for at-bats, and is on track to become the ninth player in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs and 300 career stolen bases.

At 33 years old, Ramirez is doing all of these things while still playing third base regularly, which is why former player Jensen Lewis has praised him as the best of his generation.

“If you look at the modern era of third basemen, period, hard to argue against Jose Ramirez as the best of the generation. That’s saying a lot knowing the pedigree of third basemen we have,” Lewis said.

Is Jose Ramirez the best 3B of our lifetimes? #GuardsBall

"It's hard to argue against Jose Ramirez as the best of the generation."

– @JLEWFIFTY pic.twitter.com/ZXNsEjsruh

— BIGPLAY Cleveland Show (@BIGPLAYCLEshow) April 16, 2026

Now in his 14th season, Ramirez is a seven-time AL All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger Award winner as a third baseman. He has played more than 100 games at the position eight times, after playing second base and shortstop occasionally earlier in his career.

Among his peers, Ramirez would face the most competition for the title of “best third baseman” from Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado, and Alex Bregman. Unlike Ramirez, each of them has played for more than one team.

Based on his defense, Arenado, who has played his entire 14-year career in the National League, may have the best argument, as he has won 10 Gold Gloves and six Platinum Gloves to go along with eight All-Star selections and five Silver Slugger Awards. Ramirez has never won a Gold Glove Award.

Machado, who is approaching 400 home runs, has seven All-Star nods, three Silver Sluggers, and two Gold Gloves. Bregman is the only one to have won the World Series, doing so twice with the Houston Astros, to go along with three All-Star bids, one Gold Glove, and one Silver Slugger.

Fortunately, fans can still watch all of them on the field today, adding to their strong cases for the Baseball Hall of Fame.