The American League MVP candidates are well-known at this point.
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is the favorite, and his teammate Juan Soto and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. are not far behind.
However, it’s important to point out that Cleveland Guardians dynamic infielder Jose Ramirez is enjoying an MVP-caliber season even if he is not going to win the award.
You could very well say that J-Ram is quietly having one of the best seasons of his brilliant career, and that’s saying a lot.
The numbers say he is doing something almost unique through 122 team games.
“Through 122 team games, José Ramírez has 32 home runs, 100 RBI & 27 stolen bases. The only other player in MLB history to do that is Ken Williams (32 HR, 120 RBI, 33 SB) of the 1922 St. Louis Browns. Williams received ZERO MVP votes that season,” Guardians stats expert Luke Potosky tweeted.
Through 122 team games, José Ramírez has 32 home runs, 100 RBI & 27 stolen bases.
The only other player in MLB history to do that is Ken Williams (32 HR, 120 RBI, 33 SB) of the 1922 St. Louis Browns. Williams received ZERO MVP votes that season. 🤯#ForTheLand | @CleGuardians https://t.co/2oNtUifoKh pic.twitter.com/DDeiJiudHL
— Luke Potosky (@LukePotosky) August 17, 2024
Even at 31 years old, Ramirez is among the finest players in the league.
He already has 100 RBI and the Guardians aren’t even in the 125-game plateau.
If the six-time All-Star remains healthy and keeps performing at this pace, there is a chance he logs his first ever 40-homer season.
His career-high is 39 in 2018.
He also has a good chance of establishing new personal bests in RBI (126 in 2022) and stolen bases (34 in 2018).
Maybe Ramirez will be in a similar situation than Williams, as described by Potosky in his tweet: an underappreciated, but incredibly productive season lost in the middle of Judge, Soto, and Witt’s brilliance.
Guardians fans won’t forget, though.
NEXT: Guardians Pitcher Opens Up About Rough Start On Friday
