JAWS and the 2025 Hall of Fame Ballot: Hanley Ramirez

The next article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing have a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2025 Corridor of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this yr’s poll, and different candidates within the sequence, use the software above; an introduction to JAWS will be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule, see right here. All WAR figures consult with the Baseball Reference model until in any other case indicated.

For the higher a part of his 20s, Hanley Ramirez was one of many sport’s high shortstops, a minimum of on the offensive facet — the kind of hitter able to carrying a workforce regardless of his shaky protection. In the course of the 2006–14 span, he gained NL Rookie of the Yr honors, made three straight All-Star groups, joined the 30/30 membership, claimed a batting title, completed second within the MVP voting, and served as a lineup centerpiece on two division winners. Sadly, his profession unraveled after he inked a giant free agent cope with the Pink Sox, the identical workforce that had initially signed him out of the Dominican Republic. Between a number of place modifications and a slew of accidents — notably to each shoulders — he slid into replacement-level oblivion, and performed simply 60 video games after his age-33 season.

Hanley Ramirez was born on December 23, 1983 in Samaná, a city on the northeastern peninsula of the Dominican Republic, to oldsters Toribio (an auto mechanic) and Isabela Ramirez. By way of Molly Knight’s The Finest Workforce Cash Can Purchase, his mom wished to call him Juan Jose and name him J.J., however his father objected. His paternal grandmother, a devotee of Shakespeare, instructed Hamlet, which his dad and mom agreed to, however the clerk who wrote up the delivery certificates misspelled the title, and the error caught. “However that’s okay, as a result of I like my title,” Ramirez instructed Knight.

Ramirez took to baseball rapidly. Huge for his age — he would develop to 6-foot-2 – he led his Little League workforce in dwelling runs when he was 5. By the point he was 15, he was starring at Adbentista Excessive College and drawing the eye of scouts. In response to scout Levy Ochoa, the Pink Sox signed him for a $20,000 bonus on July 2, 2000, when he was 16 years outdated. He was as inexperienced because the grass itself. “Let me inform you, earlier than I signed I didn’t know they paid you for enjoying baseball,” Ramirez instructed the Miami Herald in 2006. “I performed as a result of I cherished the sport. It was unimaginable after they instructed me they had been going to signal me and so they had been going to present me cash.”

Ramirez spent 2001 within the Dominican Summer season League, hitting .345 with 25 extra-base hits and 13 steals in 54 video games, then got here stateside the next yr and hit a scorching .353/.401/.548 with six homers in a season break up between the Pink Sox’s Gulf Coast League affiliate and their Low-A Lowell workforce. Baseball America ranked him as the highest prospect of each the GCL and the New York-Penn League, and famous that managers praised his athleticism, vary, arm power, bat velocity, energy, and really feel for the sport, evaluating him to Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra on the similar stage. Nonetheless, BA sounded a word of warning: “Whereas [GCL] managers universally praised Ramirez’s can’t-miss expertise, they had been additionally unanimous of their concern for his lackadaisical, typically cocky strategy to the sport.” That fall, Ramirez was despatched dwelling from educational league for cursing at a coach.

The ups and downs continued. Whereas BA ranked the 19-year-old Ramirez nineteenth on its High 100 Prospects record within the spring of 2003, in Could of that season the Pink Sox suspended him for 10 days and demoted him from A-level Augusta to prolonged spring coaching for making an obscene gesture towards a fan. His conduct did enhance later within the season, however his efficiency wasn’t overwhelming (.275/.327/.403, eight homers, 36 steals), and he slipped to thirty ninth on BA’s High 100 Prospects record. Again on observe with a 2004 season break up between Excessive-A Sarasota and Double-A Portland, he rose to tenth on BA’s record, with the publication virtually drooling: “[W]hen he’s proper, balls soar off his bat and have carry to all fields. His protection is spectacular, as Ramirez has above-average vary, plus-plus arm power and tender palms. He additionally has plus velocity.”

In the meantime, after buying and selling Garciaparra in mid-2004 and successful the World Sequence with Orlando Cabrera at shortstop, the Pink Sox had signed free agent Edgar Renteria to a four-year, $40 million deal to take over the place, clouding Ramirez’s future. Renteria took Ramirez beneath his wing in spring coaching, mentoring him regardless of the chance that both a place change or a workforce change could possibly be within the offing for the teen, notably with Dustin Pedroia rising as Boston’s most well-liked center infield prospect. Ramirez returned to Portland, the place he spent half a season paired with Pedroia in a double play mixture, however he slipped to a .271/.335/.385 line with six dwelling runs. BA flagged his lack of focus and preparation, and supervisor Todd Claus famous an absence of consistency, recalling in 2009, “Any time the stage acquired massive, Hanley performed massive. He performed nicely each time he was being watched. However he wanted to study to play nicely persistently, on a regular basis, even when there have been solely 100 folks within the stands.”

In a late-season call-up by the Pink Sox, Ramirez struck out in his solely two plate appearances, 12 days aside; the primary, on September 20, 2005, was towards the Rays’ Tim Corcoran. On November 24, simply over a month earlier than his twenty second birthday, he was traded to the Marlins together with Aníbal Sánchez and two different pitchers in change for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota. He collected his first profession hit on Opening Day, April 3, 2006, a single towards the Astros’ Roy Oswalt, who then struck him out thrice. The following day he went 4-for-5, with all 4 hits and three RBI, together with a double, coming towards Andy Pettitte. He hit his first two dwelling runs on April 18 towards the Reds’ Eric Milton in Cincinnati. He strung collectively a powerful season, batting .292/.353/.480 (116 OPS+) with 51 steals, 11 triples, and 17 homers, and narrowly beat out the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman for NL Rookie of the Yr honors.

Ramirez rapidly developed into a significant offensive risk, hitting .332/.386/.562 (145 OPS+) with 28 homers and 51 steals in 2007 and .301/.400/.540 (143 OPS+) with 33 homers and 35 steals in ’08. His protection within the first of these years was downright terrible (-28 DRS), limiting him to 4.4 WAR, however he improved to -3 DRS (the identical as 2006) and positioned seventh within the league with 6.7 WAR in ’08, after having undergone surgical procedure on his left labrum the earlier fall. After signing a six-year, $70 million extension in Could 2008, he was elected to start out that yr’s All-Star Sport, and led the NL with 125 runs scored; in each 2007 and ’08, he acquired down-ballot MVP help. The Marlins, who’d slipped from 78-84 in 2006 beneath Joe Girardi to 71-91 in ’07 beneath Fredi Gonzalez, improved to 84-77 in ’08, their highest win whole since their ’03 World Sequence-winning workforce.

After enjoying for the Dominican Republic workforce within the 2009 World Baseball Traditional, Ramirez kicked off his common season with an Opening Day grand slam off the Nationals’ Steven Shell. Whereas the remainder of his April wasn’t fairly as notable, he acquired extraordinarily scorching in Could, and didn’t calm down till the second half of September. Total, he hit .342/.410/.543 with 24 homers and 27 steals, main the NL in batting common, rating third in WAR (7.3), fifth in OPS+ (148), and sixth in on-base proportion; once more he began the All-Star Sport. Albert Pujols gained the NL MVP unanimously; Ramirez completed second, having garnered 15 of the 32 second-place votes.

By DRS, Ramirez’s protection truly nosed above common in 2009, nevertheless it fell off precipitously thereafter; he was 19 runs beneath common in ’10. Although he nonetheless hit 21 dwelling runs and stole 32 bases, his offense regressed as nicely (.300/.378/.475, 126 OPS+), and outdated considerations about his degree of professionalism resurfaced when Gonzalez briefly benched him for failing to hustle in a Could 17 sport. After a bloop by the Diamondbacks’ Tony Abreu dropped into quick left area, Ramirez by accident kicked the ball about 100 toes into the left area nook, then jogged to retrieved it as two runs scored and Abreu reached third. To be truthful, Ramirez had fouled a ball off an ankle earlier within the sport, however after being pulled, he exacerbated the scenario together with his postgame feedback about Gonzalez, a profession minor leaguer. Per the Related Press:

“It’s his workforce. He can do no matter,” Ramírez mentioned, mixing in an expletive. “There’s nothing I can do about it. That’s OK. He doesn’t perceive that. He by no means performed within the massive leagues,” he mentioned.

…“We acquired lots of people dogging it after floor balls,” he mentioned. “They don’t apologize.”

Woof. Ramirez missed the Marlins’ subsequent sport, however returned to the lineup after apologizing individually to every of his teammates. He recovered from the flap to start out his third straight All-Star sport — by which level Gonzalez had been fired, changed by Edwin Rodriguez — however completed the season with simply 2.8 WAR, merely good, not the MVP-caliber degree of his previous two seasons. His descent continued, as he hit simply .243/.333/.379 (95 OPS+) with -13 DRS throughout simply 92 video games in 2011, lacking time first on account of sciatica after which a left shoulder harm, suffered whereas diving for a ball on August 2 towards the Mets. He didn’t play once more that season and underwent surgical procedure in September.

Over the winter of 2011–12, the Marlins rebranded in preparation for his or her transfer from a suburban multipurpose stadium into a brand new downtown Miami ballpark. Their new look and title was greater than beauty, as they traded for White Sox supervisor Ozzie Guillen and Cubs righty Carlos Zambrano, and signed a trio of All-Stars in free company: lefty Mark Buehrle, nearer Heath Bell, and shortstop José Reyes. Ramirez agreed to maneuver to 3rd base to accommodate Reyes, however his offense and protection remained subpar. By the season’s first 97 video games, he hit for only a 100 OPS+, was 10 runs beneath common at third, and netted 0.6 WAR; in the meantime the workforce was seven video games beneath .500 (45-52). On July 25, Ramirez acquired a reprieve within the type of a four-player commerce with the Dodgers, who despatched Nathan Eovaldi to Miami. Bought to Guggenheim Baseball Administration simply three months earlier, the Dodgers had been beefing up payroll after Frank McCourt, the earlier proprietor, had steered them out of business. They had been eight video games above .500 (53-46), vying for his or her first playoff spot since 2009.

Although he initially performed third base for the Dodgers, Ramirez was quickly shifted again to shortstop. He perked as much as a 112 OPS+ the remainder of the best way, and whereas the Dodgers quickly light from competition, they continued so as to add expertise in trades, most notably with a blockbuster that introduced over Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Adrián González from the Pink Sox. In 2013, Ramirez led the lineup with 5.2 WAR regardless of enjoying simply 86 video games on account of a torn ligament in his proper thumb and a left hamstring pressure. The primary of these accidents, suffered whereas diving for a ball through the World Baseball Traditional, required surgical procedure that price him most of April. He hit .345/.402/.638 (189 OPS+) with 20 homers and common protection at shortstop, serving to the Dodgers win the NL West, and regardless of being banged up, he went on a rampage towards the Braves within the Division Sequence, hitting .500/.556/1.063 with six extra-base hits and 6 RBI in 4 video games. The Cardinals, their NLCS opponent, took word, and Sport 1 starter Joe Kelly drilled Ramirez within the ribs with a 95-mph fastball in his first plate look, fracturing a rib.

Kelly claimed that the plunking was unintentional, as he instructed the Los Angeles Occasions in 2023:

Hanley Ramirez in all probability ought to have gotten out of the best way or turned inside just a little extra. It was a fastball in and earlier than the sport we sport deliberate to not let Hanley beat us. He’s not an excellent inside fastball hitter. One slipped and clearly broke his rib and that can without end go down as the most important pitch to show the Cardinals season to maneuver on. Clearly, it was an accident.

The harm altered the complexion of the sequence. Ramirez not solely missed Sport 2 (a 1-0 Dodgers loss) however went simply 2-for-15 general because the Cardinals gained in six.

Although he was restricted to 128 video games on account of an indirect pressure and quite a lot of different illnesses, Ramirez was nonetheless excellent in 2014 (.283/.369/.448, 133 OPS+), producing 3.7 WAR regardless of his declining protection. In a Division Sequence rematch with the Cardinals, he hit .429/.500/.500, however 5 of his six hits got here in losses. The Dodgers fell in 4 video games.

With that, Ramirez hit free company with a profile that carried quite a lot of threat and portended a place change, as he’d averaged 116 video games, -8 DRS, and a pair of.6 WAR over his age-27 by way of age-30 seasons. The Pink Sox, who had crashed to 71 wins in 2014 after successful the World Sequence the yr earlier than, signed him to a four-year, $88 million cope with a vesting choice for a fifth season, shortly after additionally signing Pablo Sandoval to a five-year, $90 million deal. With the workforce nonetheless dedicated to Xander Bogaerts at shortstop regardless of his tough rookie season, Boston deliberate to maneuver Ramirez to left area, which in Fenway Park meant studying to cope with the Inexperienced Monster.

It didn’t go nicely. In 2015, Ramirez hit for simply an 88 OPS+ whereas hampered by accidents, together with a sprained left shoulder that occurred whereas operating into an outfield wall in Could, a power-sapping left hand harm from getting hit by a line drive, after which a proper shoulder harm suffered whereas throwing a ball. Ramirez was so unhealthy in left area (-14 DRS in 92 video games) that by August he was taking grounders at first base in anticipation of one other place change. After hitting 19 dwelling runs within the first half, he went homerless within the second earlier than being shut down in late August on account of proper shoulder soreness. He missed the workforce’s closing 39 video games.

Ramirez’s 2016 season went significantly better. Regardless of offering DH-caliber protection at first base (-7 DRS), he hit .286/.361/.505 (126 OPS+) with 30 dwelling runs and a pair of.6 WAR in 147 video games. His three-run walk-off homer off the Yankees’ Dellin Betances on September 15 kicked off an 11-game successful streak that helped Boston draw back from the AL East pack and win the division.

Although Ramirez doubled twice off Trevor Bauer within the Division Sequence opener towards Cleveland, the Pink Sox had been swept.

The retirement of David Ortiz after the 2016 season opened up Boston’s DH spot, however Ramirez proved unable to fill Huge Papi’s sizable footwear. He sank to a 95 OPS+ and -0.3 WAR in 2017, then underwent surgical procedure to debride cartilage in his left shoulder. His efficiency didn’t enhance, not that the Pink Sox gave him a very lengthy leash post-surgery. Within the midst of an 0-for-21 slide, he was designated for task and launched in late Could 2018, with about $14.5 million remaining on his contract.

Bypassing alternatives to catch on elsewhere, Ramirez went dwelling and centered on getting wholesome earlier than signing a minor league cope with Cleveland in October of that yr. However whereas he made the large membership out of spring coaching and homered twice within the first 5 video games, he performed in simply 16 video games earlier than being DFA’d. In July, he underwent proper shoulder surgical procedure. He performed winter ball within the Dominican Republic in 2019–20 and once more in ’21–22, however he by no means suited up for a significant league workforce once more.

The 2025 poll has loads of newcomers who carried out nicely of their 20s however light of their 30s. Leaving apart the catchers (for whom I take advantage of fWAR as a substitute of bWAR) and the slam-dunk candidate, Ichiro Suzuki, right here’s how the opposite place gamers stack up:

Ramirez is hardly alone in fading in his early 30s after a wonderful run in his 20s; warts and all, he was the best-hitting shortstop within the sport for the 2006–14 span, and he trailed solely Tulowitzki in WAR (36.6 to 37.8). Had he stayed wholesome and located a positional match, we’d be contemplating him in a unique mild — maybe a couple of years down the highway, as he’d have probably prolonged his profession. Alas, this a part of the poll incorporates no scarcity of these load-bearing what-ifs.