Who is happier, Guardians' Jose Ramirez or Mets' Lindor? | Jeff Schudel
Jun. 13—Jose Ramirez is hitting among some rarefied company this season after 56 games — appropriate since on June 14 the Guardians begin a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies in rarefied air at hitter-friendly Coors Field in Denver.
Here are just some of the numbers Ramirez is piling up:
—Ramirez leads the Major Leagues with 59 RBI. He is two ahead of Pete Alonso of the New York Mets. Alonso has played five more games than Jose.
—Ramirez has 37 extra-base hits. That equals a franchise record after 56 games set by Shoeless Joe Jackson way back in 1913 and tied by Roy Weatherly in 1936.
—The 59 RBI are third most in franchise history after 56 games. Only Manny Ramirez with 70 in 1999 and 60 in 2000 had more.
And those are just the black-and-white numbers. They don't show how well Ramirez plays third base. They don't reflect how he has been beating the shift recently when he hits the ball down the left-field line when he bats left-handed. He hit two doubles doing that June 10 and added another double the same way June 12.
"How many times have we said, 'If he's keeping the ball fair, he's going to hurt (the opponent),'" Guardians manager Terry Francona said. "A couple years ago when he was struggling a little bit, he was making hard contact, but he was pulling the ball foul. If he starts hitting the ball line to line — look out."
It is worth asking, who do you suppose is happier these days, Jose Ramirez in Cleveland after signing a seven-year, $141 million extension in April, knowing he could have made more money with another team, or Francisco Lindor?
Lindor forced the Indians to trade him in January 2021 because he would not sign an extension to stay in Cleveland. Instead, after being traded to the Mets, he signed a 10-year, $341 million extension before the 2021 season started.
Lindor might be happier on payday, but that's about it. Alonso is Mr. Met — not Lindor. Lindor is not putting up numbers to match his salary — a .245 batting average, nine home runs, 45 RBI and 40 runs scored in 60 games. Ramirez is better in every category with the exception of runs scored (38), and again it is worth mentioning Lindor has played five more games. Jose has 16 home runs to go with his 59 RBI and he is batting .292. Ramirez leads the majors with four triples and he has 17 doubles — eight more than Lindor.
"Jose is the most important player in baseball," Guardians starting pitcher Cal Quantrill declared June 12 after earning the win in a 6-3 victory over Oakland. "There are a lot of great players. He makes the biggest difference on any given team in baseball right now.
"He helps manufacture, it feels like, 75% plus of our runs. I think he helps other hitters. It would be hard to cover everything he's doing well this year, quite honestly."
No one has more fun working than Jose Ramirez, and that's a big reason fans love watching him. He exudes happiness. And he thrives under pressure.
The Guardians looked like dead fish on June 10, trailing the A's, 2-0, heading into the bottom of the ninth. Ramirez led off the inning with a home run, and before you could chant, "Jose, Jose, Jose, Joseeee, Jose," the Guardians were 3-2 winners.
The home run wasn't one of them because it only cut the Oakland lead to 2-1, but Ramirez has 12 go-ahead RBI, as of June 12 the second-most in the majors. The Guardians were idle June 13.
After facing the Rockies, the Guardians will play three games against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The game June 16, first pitch scheduled for 10:10 p.m. Eastern time, will be televised on Apple TV. The June 18 game, starting at 7:15 p.m., will be televised nationally on WJW.
The exposure will give the country the opportunity to watch, in Quantrill's words, the most important player in baseball.
