Lost in the historic start by rookie Chase DeLauter is the very slow beginning by Jose Ramirez for the Cleveland Guardians this season. The superstar third baseman has just two hits in the first four games, but they have been very significant statistically.
Ramirez has two doubles this season, which gives him 400 for his career. That makes him just the third player in Cleveland franchise history to reach that particular milestone, joining Baseball Hall of Famers Tris Speaker (486) and Nap Lajoie (424).
So, with that behind him, Ramirez is already eyeing a historic Guardians feat, as he now begins his quest to reach 500 doubles.
“I’m just very happy, and obviously, thank God for keeping me healthy. The question I have for you guys [reporters], who’s the one who has 500 [doubles]?” Ramirez said. “I’m going to try. I’m going to give my best and hopefully, God-willing, we can get there.”
Ramirez doubled in Cleveland’s season-opening win, going 1-for-5 against the Seattle Mariners. He was 0-for-4 in the next day’s loss, but he doubled again while going 1-for-5 in an extra-inning victory. He was 0-for-2 with a walk in the series finale as the Guardians were almost no-hit in a shutout loss.
Ramirez is batting just .125 with four strikeouts, getting off to a slow start as he tries to reach other notable career accomplishments. He is attempting to become the ninth player in MLB history to have 300 career home runs and 300 career stolen bases. With no homers and one stolen base so far, he needs 15 homers and 12 steals to get there. He is also trying to become the only player other than Barry Bonds to have a 30-30 season three years in a row.
He is also on the verge of becoming Cleveland’s all-time leader in games played. With 1,613, he needs just seven more to surpass Lajoie (1,614) and Terry Turner (1,619) for the top of that list.
As for the 500 doubles, Ramirez could reach that milestone within the next three years, based on his career rate. He has hit at least 32 doubles in each of his past nine full seasons.
With a contract extension that is likely to keep him with the Guardians until the end of his career, Ramirez could wind up as the franchise leader in every significant offensive category.
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