Fastball

Cleveland Guardians Star Joins Extremely Rare Club in American League History

The Cleveland Guardians are on the verge of clinching the American League Central title and Jose Ramirez's historic season is a major reason why.

Brady Farkas

Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) takes a pitch in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field on Sept 18.
Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) takes a pitch in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field on Sept 18. / David Richard-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Cleveland Guardians beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 on Friday night in St. Louis. With the win, the Guardians are now 90-65 on the season. They are 0.5 games behind the New York Yankees for the top seed in the looming American League playoffs and are on the verge of clinching the American League Central title.

In the win, Ben Lively went 5.0 innings on the mound. He struck out two while giving up just one run on three hits. He's 13-9 this season with a 3.80 ERA.

Offensively, the team was led once again by All-Star Jose Ramirez. He went 3-for-4 on the night with a home run and stolen base. Ramirez now has 36 homers and 40 steals on the year, putting him in an extremely rare group in American League history.

Per @StatsCentre on social media:

American League players to record a season of 35+ home runs and 40+ stolen bases:
@CleGuardians Jose Ramirez (2024 via swiping a bag in Friday's 5-1 win vs STL)
Alfonso Soriano (39-41 in 2002)
Alex Rodriguez (42-46 in 1998)
Jose Canseco (42-40 in 1988)
Bobby Bonds (37-41 in 1977)

One of the most consistent players over the last decade, Ramirez is hitting .274 this season while bringing in 109 runs. He helped the Guardians get to the World Series back in 2016 and is hoping to accomplish the same thing again.

Cleveland will take on the Cardinals again on Saturday night with first pitch coming at 7:15 p.m. ET. Matthew Boyd will pitch for the Guardians against Miles Mikolas.

Follow Fastball On SI on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball On SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

Published
Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/History