# José Ramírez (infielder)
**José Enrique Ramírez** (born 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball third baseman for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball, a switch hitter who has been an All-Star, a six-time Silver Slugger, and a repeated top finisher in American League Most Valuable Player voting since his September 1, 2013 debut.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) Listed at 5 feet 8 inches and 190 pounds, he bats left-handed against right-handed pitching and right-handed against left-handed pitching, and throws right.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / nickname | José Enrique Ramírez; "Enriquito"[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) |
| Born / debut | 1992, Baní, Dominican Republic; MLB debut 2013, at age 20[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) • [2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramirjo01.shtml) |
| Signed | November 26, 2009, by Cleveland as a non-drafted (international) free agent[3](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/fwi0riuwoigd4yt4vpbq.pdf) |
| Career regular season | 6,443 AB, .276 average, 297 home runs, 1,002 RBI, 324 stolen bases, .845 OPS[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) |
| Best seasons | 2024: 39 HR, 41 SB, 118 RBI, All-MLB First Team; 2025: third in AL MVP, sixth Silver Slugger, third 30-30 season[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) |
| MVP record | Seven top-six AL MVP finishes without winning the award; career MVP vote share of 3.61[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) • [4](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/why-jose-ramirez-is-the-best-player-to-never-win-an-mvp-award.html) |
| Contract | Seven-year, $175 million extension signed in January 2026, keeping him with Cleveland[5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jam8WyO2gEM) |
## Early life and signing
Ramírez grew up in Baní, the capital of Peravia Province in the [Dominican Republic](https://www.edgepedia.org/dominican-republic), where he has said that baseball was the first thing on his mind from childhood.[6](https://www.mlb.com/news/indians-jose-ramirez-talks-baseball-as-youth-c256641746) [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland) signed him on November 26, 2009, as a non-drafted free agent, meaning he entered the organization without being selected in the draft.[3](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/fwi0riuwoigd4yt4vpbq.pdf) He hit .342 across his first two minor league seasons, and in 2013, at age 20, he was called up from Double-A to serve as a pinch-runner during Cleveland's postseason push, making his major league debut on September 1, 2013.[7](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Jos%C3%A9_Ram%C3%ADrez) • [8](https://www.mlb.com/guardians/news/jose-ramirez-ties-guardians-record-for-most-games-played-with-1-619?lctg=63568904&partnerId=it-20260917-17579132-mlb-1-A)
## Career progression
**Breakout, 2016–2018.** In 2016, his first full season, Ramírez hit .312 with 11 home runs and 22 stolen bases in 152 games and received MVP votes.[2](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramirjo01.shtml) In 2017 he led the league with 56 doubles, hit 29 home runs, stole 17 bases, and scored 107 runs while playing strong third-base defense, earning his first American League MVP votes.[9](https://www.mlb.com/news/signing-jose-ramirez-was-steal-of-the-century-c286522960) He followed with 39 home runs in 2018, a total he matched again in 2024.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) After playing all over the diamond early in his career, he settled in as a third baseman and has not played regularly anywhere else since 2018.[10](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jose-ramirez-is-a-marvel/)
**Sustained excellence, 2020–2025.** In the shortened 2020 season he finished second in AL MVP voting and led MLB in fWAR at 3.4, the highest MVP finish by a Cleveland player since [Albert Belle](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-belle) in 1995.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) In 2022, after signing a seven-year extension through the 2028 season before the home opener, he led the AL in doubles for the second time and drove in 126 runs, the most by a Cleveland switch-hitter in club history.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) In 2023 he hit his 200th career home run, becoming the 26th Dominican player to reach that mark, and recorded his first career three-homer game on June 8 against Boston.[11](https://as.com/us/mlb/jose-ramirez-llega-a-200-cuadrangulares-en-triunfo-de-guardians-sobre-red-sox-n/) In 2024 he led the club in RBI (118), home runs (39), doubles (39), stolen bases (41), and OPS (.872), was named to the All-MLB First Team, and set a club record with 88 career intentional walks, passing [Jim Thome](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-thome)'s 87.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) In 2025 he posted his third 30-30 season, stole a career-high 44 bases, won a sixth Silver Slugger, made the All-MLB First Team, and finished third in AL MVP voting behind [Aaron Judge](https://www.edgepedia.org/aaron-judge) and Cal Raleigh; on September 25 he set the club record for career extra-base hits with 726, breaking Earl Averill's 86-year-old mark.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) • [4](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/why-jose-ramirez-is-the-best-player-to-never-win-an-mvp-award.html)
**Durability and franchise standing.** Ramírez tied the Guardians franchise record for most games played with 1,619, a mark of longevity with a single club.[8](https://www.mlb.com/guardians/news/jose-ramirez-ties-guardians-record-for-most-games-played-with-1-619?lctg=63568904&partnerId=it-20260917-17579132-mlb-1-A) He has finished in the top two on the club in bWAR in each season since 2020, and FanGraphs ranked his age-32 season in 2025 as the fourth-best by a third baseman in history, behind [George Brett](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-brett) (1985), [Mike Schmidt](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-schmidt) (1982), and Buddy Bell (1984).[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) • [12](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jose-ramirez-is-a-forever-guardian/)
## Awards and the MVP question
Ramírez has never won the AL MVP Award despite seven top-six finishes, and MLB.com has described him as the best player never to win one, citing his career MVP vote share of 3.61.[4](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/why-jose-ramirez-is-the-best-player-to-never-win-an-mvp-award.html) He is also without a Gold Glove, though he led all [American League](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-league) third basemen in Defensive Runs Saved in 2021 and has been a Rawlings finalist repeatedly, including in 2025.[12](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jose-ramirez-is-a-forever-guardian/) • [1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) His six Silver Sluggers and All-MLB selections recognize his offensive production, and he has been a seven-time recipient of the MLBPAA Heart and Hustle Award as the Guardians' nominee.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070)
## 2026 season
**Contract and injury.** In January 2026 the Guardians and Ramírez agreed to a seven-year, $175 million extension intended to keep him with Cleveland for the rest of his career.[5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jam8WyO2gEM) In June 2026 he was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamate fracture and underwent surgery; he was activated on July 22, 2026, after five weeks sidelined.[13](https://www.mlb.com/guardians/news/jose-ramirez-stitches-removed-left-hamate-surgery) • [14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIOUJelcNK4) His 2026 regular season line of .235 with 12 home runs, 37 stolen bases, and a .688 OPS in 473 at-bats reflected the interrupted year.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070)
**Postseason.** In the 2026 postseason he hit .367 with two home runs, eight RBI, and a 1.124 OPS in 30 at-bats, including a two-run homer in the fourth inning of Game 5 of the Division Series that gave Cleveland a 2-0 win over the [Chicago White Sox](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-white-sox) and the American League pennant race continued.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070) • [15](https://as.com/us/mlb/cleveland-guardians-el-equipo-de-92-millones-de-dolares-que-desafia-a-mlb-y-persigue-un-titulo-desde-1948-f202610-n/)
## Playing style
Ramírez combines contact hitting, power, and baserunning from a 5-foot-8 frame. He is the only player in the Majors to rank in the 90th percentile or better in whiff rate every year since 2015, a measure of how rarely he swings and misses.[16](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/jose-ramirez-staying-consistent.html) Although he is not among the fastest runners in the game, his baserunning value has been elite: since 2018 he has accumulated the most FanGraphs baserunning runs in MLB, largely through taking extra bases that other runners do not attempt.[10](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jose-ramirez-is-a-marvel/) With two strikes he owns a career .404 slugging percentage, the highest among active MLB hitters.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070)
## References
1. [José Ramírez player page, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/jose-ramirez-608070)
2. [José Ramírez Stats, Baseball-Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramirjo01.shtml)
3. [José Ramírez career transactions, MLB media guide PDF](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/fwi0riuwoigd4yt4vpbq.pdf)
4. [Why José Ramírez is the best player to never win an MVP Award, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/why-jose-ramirez-is-the-best-player-to-never-win-an-mvp-award.html)
5. [José Ramírez signs contract extension with Cleveland Guardians, News 5 Cleveland (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jam8WyO2gEM)
6. [Guardians' José Ramírez talks baseball as youth, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/indians-jose-ramirez-talks-baseball-as-youth-c256641746)
7. [José Ramírez, BR Bullpen, Baseball-Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Jos%C3%A9_Ram%C3%ADrez)
8. [José Ramírez ties Guardians record for most games played with 1,619, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/guardians/news/jose-ramirez-ties-guardians-record-for-most-games-played-with-1-619?lctg=63568904&partnerId=it-20260917-17579132-mlb-1-A)
9. [Signing José Ramírez was steal of the century, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/signing-jose-ramirez-was-steal-of-the-century-c286522960)
10. [José Ramírez Is a Marvel, FanGraphs](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jose-ramirez-is-a-marvel/)
11. [José Ramírez llega a 200 cuadrangulares, AS.com](https://as.com/us/mlb/jose-ramirez-llega-a-200-cuadrangulares-en-triunfo-de-guardians-sobre-red-sox-n/)
12. [José Ramírez Is a Forever Guardian, FanGraphs](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jose-ramirez-is-a-forever-guardian/)
13. [José Ramírez has stitches removed after left hamate surgery, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/guardians/news/jose-ramirez-stitches-removed-left-hamate-surgery)
14. [José Ramírez Returns to Cleveland Guardians After Hand Injury, News 5 Cleveland (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIOUJelcNK4)
15. [Cleveland Guardians, el equipo de 92 millones de dólares, AS.com](https://as.com/us/mlb/cleveland-guardians-el-equipo-de-92-millones-de-dolares-que-desafia-a-mlb-y-persigue-un-titulo-desde-1948-f202610-n/)
16. [How Cleveland's José Ramírez has remained so consistent, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/jose-ramirez-staying-consistent.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › Third basemen*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license