CLEVELAND — José Ramírez continued to put his stamp on the Cleveland franchise record books in Thursdayâ€s 4-2 loss to the Tigers at Progressive Field.
With an opposite-field RBI double in the eighth inning, RamÃrez became Clevelandâ€s all-time extra-base hits leader, with 726. The 33-year-old broke a tie with Hall of Fame outfielder Earl Averill, who compiled 725 extra-base hits over 11 seasons with the franchise.
“Iâ€m surprised he didn’t do it earlier,†said a prideful Austin Hedges when asked about RamÃrezâ€s incredible feat. “That record is going to be untouchable by the time he’s done playing.â€
That very well may be the case for a number of Clevelandâ€s all-time records. It feels like RamÃrez has made franchise history weekly this season, and lately, he has.
On Sept. 7, RamÃrez passed Hall of Famer Jim Thome for the second-most RBIs in franchise history, since it became an official stat in 1920. RamÃrez also passed Omar Vizquel for second in franchise history in stolen bases on Sept. 6. With 283 career steals, he now only sits behind Kenny Lofton (452) on the all-time list.
Thursdayâ€s accomplishment was the latest feather in RamÃrezâ€s cap as he continues to pad his Hall-of-Fame-worthy resume. It came during what has been one of his best offensive months of the season.
In 24 games this month, RamÃrez is slashing .292/.382/.551 with nine doubles, four home runs and 17 RBIs — the latter of which leads the team. The only month he recorded more RBIs was July (18). His .933 OPS this month is his third best this season; he had a 1.085 OPS in 26 games in May and a .952 OPS in 26 games in July.
As Cleveland has gone on an 18-6 surge in September to put itself on the verge of clinching a postseason spot, RamÃrez has been coming up huge.
“We have a joke in the dugout,†manager Stephen Vogt said this week. “Whenever he comes up in a big spot, we say, ‘Come on, Hosey. One time do something. One time do something cool.†He just seems to always answer the call when he gets in these big moments, because he’s a Hall of Fame-caliber player.â€
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