Cleveland Guardians Star Jose Ramirez Closing In On Massive History

Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez is on the verge of achieving a major franchise milestone.

Aug 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) runs the bases in the third inning against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez is enjoying an incredible season, and he is now closing in on yet another franchise milestone.

Currently, Ramirez has 32 home runs and 27 stolen bases on the year. If he swipes three more bags (which seems all but inevitable), he will become the first player in Guardians history to put together two campaigns of 30 homers and 30 stolen bases (he previously did it in 2018).

Joe Carter and Grady Sizemore each have one season with those totals (h/t Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com).

Ramirez also passed Albert Belle for second on Cleveland's all-time home run list this season with 248 overall. He still has a long way to go to catch Jim Thome, however, who is atop the leaderboard with 337 dingers. So long as Ramirez stays healthy and remains with the Guardians, he will likely eclipse Thome sometime within the next few years.

The 31-year-old is slashing .281/.335/.547 while also hitting 27 doubles and driving in 100 runs over 514 plate appearances in 2024. On top of that, Ramirez has been playing his usual solid defense, boasting a 4.6 UZR/150 at the hot corner. He made sixth All-Star appearance this year for his efforts.

Ramirez has been particularly scintillating in the month of August, slashing .321/.375/.661 with five long balls and 13 RBI across 64 trips to the dish.

If not for New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge having a historically great campaign of his own, Ramirez would be staunchly in the American League MVP race.

The Guardians are 72-50 and will take on the Milwaukee Brewers in the second game of a three-game set on Saturday night. Cleveland lost the first matchup of the series on Friday. Ramirez homered in the defeat.