Mother Nature denied Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez a chance to make history on Sunday.
He came one home run short of joining the exclusive 40-40 club, and needed a homer and a double to become the second hitter in history to hit 40 two-baggers, 40 round-trippers and logging 40 stolen bases.
Inclement weather forced the league to cancel their game against the Houston Astros, though.
Instead of mourning what could have been, let’s focus on what was: a brilliant season by J-Ram.
He hit an excellent .279/.335/.537 with 39 homers, 118 RBI, 39 doubles, 41 thefts, and a .872 OPS.
He struck out just 82 times.
In times in which most power hitters strike out more than 150 times per year, Ramirez is a unicorn.
A big part of his ability to avoid strikeouts stem from what he can do with two strikes.
Not only he defends his turn when he has two strikes, but he is so special that he can actually inflict damage in extremely advantageous situations for pitchers.
His ability to do that puts him at the top of an impressive historical ranking.
“Jose Ramirez of the @CleGuardians had a total of 180 total bases with two strikes this season. Since pitches were first tracked in 1988, the next-most total bases any player had with two strikes in a season was 162 by Alex Rodriguez in 1996,” OPTA Stats posted on X.
Jose Ramirez of the @CleGuardians had a total of 180 total bases with two strikes this season.
Since pitches were first tracked in 1988, the next-most total bases any player had with two strikes in a season was 162 by Alex Rodriguez in 1996. pic.twitter.com/QrjDfGp4AM
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 30, 2024
180 total bases with two strikes is nothing short of amazing.
It equals to 180 singles and that alone is extremely impressive.
It wasn’t just singles, though: he did much more than that with two strikes.
As you can see, no one has come close to what he did in 36 years.
Many batters feel helpless when they reach that situation.
Not Ramirez, though.
He is talented and experienced enough to know how to deal with every situation in the game.
That’s why he is one of the best at what he does.
NEXT: Guardians Reliever Finishes Season As The Proud Member Of Exclusive Group
