Tigers Pitching Wanted No Part Of Guardians’ Jose Ramirez

The Detroit Tigers intentionally walked Jose Ramirez three times in the Cleveland Guardians' victory.

Jul 9, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians third base Jose Ramírez (11) hits a double in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Jose Ramirez has established himself as one of baseball’s best all-around hitters, whether for contact, power, or in the clutch. That’s a great thing to have hitting third in their lineup if you’re the Cleveland Guardians, but it can create many problems for the opposition.

The Detroit Tigers learned this the hard way on Tuesday night, and they made it clear they had no intention of pitching to J-Ram during the game’s biggest moments.

Ramirez had consecutive singles and then a double over his first three at-bats of the game. After this, the Tigers decided to intentionally walk him not once, not twice, but three times in his final plate appearances.

Ramirez is now the only player in MLB history to have three consecutive hits followed by three consecutive intentional walks in a game. 

Paul Goldschmidt is the only player to come close to this, as he has three hits and was intentionally walked three times on May 31, 2015. However, his IBBs were spread throughout the game (Per Ryan Sepaeder on X).

Of course, being intentionally walked is credit to how good the hitter is, but Stephen Vogt also pointed out that this also happened because of what other players were doing around Jose in the lineup.

“It was just the way the game lined up, but that’s a testament to [Steven Kwan], [Angel Martinez], and [Austin Hedges] was I think one of them too. You know, they get on base in front of him, and it makes them half to make a decision.”

Apr 26, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) shown after being hit by a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Being intentionally walked is not new to Ramirez. He led all of baseball in 2022 (20) and 2023 (22) with IBB, which, yes, was more than Shohei Ohtani's total.

Even though this gesture can be viewed as a sign of respect to the hitter, Ramirez probably would rather have been given the chance to hit in these clutch moments.