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Cleveland Guardians' José Ramírez Crushes Home Run, Moves Up Historic AL Leaderboard

José Ramírez now ranks seventh all-time in career home runs by an American League third baseman after blasting a solo homer in the Cleveland Guardians' win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

Sam Connon

Aug 24, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) tosses his bat after hitting a single in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field.
Aug 24, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) tosses his bat after hitting a single in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field. / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
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José Ramírez had been suffering through a bit of a dry spell as of late, but that came to an end on Saturday.

Dating back to Aug. 17, Ramírez was 1-for-20 with one RBI. While the Cleveland Guardians third baseman had six walks and three stolen bases in that six-game span, he didn't have much pop at the plate.

The Guardians suffered a 1-5 skid amid Ramírez's struggles, only for both of their fortunes to change at once. Cleveland dominated the Texas Rangers on Saturday, winning 13-5 to even the series at 1-1.

Ramírez went 2-for-4 in the contest, including a 373-foot solo home run in the bottom of the sixth that made it 10-1.

Ramírez is now batting .273 with 33 home runs, 102 RBI, 30 stolen bases, an .865 OPS and a 5.0 WAR this season. For his career, Ramírez is up to 249 home runs.

Beyond putting himself one homer away from 250, Ramírez now ranks seventh all-time in career home runs among American League third basemen, according to TSN's StatsCentre. Ramírez entered Saturday tied for seventh with Eric Chavez, and he now trails Evan Longoria by 12.

Graig Nettles owns the record with 333.

On the whole in his career, Ramírez is a .278 hitter with 1,460 hits, 232 stolen bases 847 RBI, an .854 OPS and a 50.2 WAR. Ramírez is one of six players to rack up at least 240 home runs and 230 stolen bases in the 2000s, and he is the only one ever to do so with the Guardians.

Last week, became the second MLB third baseman and first player in Guardians history to join the 30-30 club in multiple seasons.

Ramírez has missed an average of just nine games a year since becoming an everyday player in 2016. Cleveland went to the World Series that year and they own the fourth-best record in baseball over the last nine seasons with Ramírez anchoring the lineup.

The six-time All-Star is looking to win his fifth Silver Slugger this season.

Ramírez and the Guardians have one more game against the Rangers, with the series set to end in a matinee showdown Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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