Jose Ramirez is not just hitting the ball hard again. He is running too.
In the middle of Cleveland’s 5-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, Ramirez added another dimension to what is becoming one of the most encouraging stretches of his 2026 season. MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins noted the milestone during the game.
“AL stolen base leader Jose Ramirez just picked up his 21st of the season, and his first since May 16,” Stebbins wrote.
AL stolen base leader José Ramírez just picked up his 21st of the season, and his first since May 16.
— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) June 4, 2026
The steal came in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s win, as Ramirez singled off the right field fence and immediately went to work on the bases against Gerrit Cole. He swiped second for number 21 on the season, setting the table for Rhys Hoskins, who then drove him in with a two-run home run that gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead.
Ramirez leading the American League in stolen bases at 33 years old is its own remarkable story. He entered the 2026 season having already established himself as one of the few players in baseball history with a legitimate shot at the 300-300 club, combining 300 career home runs with 300 career stolen bases. The stolen base pace he has maintained this season, 21 through the first two months of the year, puts him on track for one of the better individual baserunning seasons of his career at an age when most power hitters have completely abandoned that dimension of their game.
Tuesday’s three double performance against the Yankees was the offensive breakout Cleveland had been waiting for all season. Wednesday’s home run and stolen base in a 5-4 win are the exclamation point that confirms this is not a one night hot streak.
When Jose Ramirez is hitting the ball hard, driving in runs, hitting home runs, and stealing bases in the same series, the Guardians are a genuinely frightening team to face. The rest of the American League has been warned. Number 11 is firing on all cylinders again.
NEXT: Guardians Infield Picture Is About To Get More Complicated
