The Cleveland Guardians’ history is full of historically relevant players.
Nap Lajoie, Bob Lemon, Bob Feller, Satchel Paige, Larry Doby, Earl Averill, Tris Speaker, Lou Boudreau, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Corey Kluber, and Francisco Lindor, among many other legends, have worn this uniform with pride.
It’s time to include Jose Ramirez in the conversation, too.
Is Ramirez the greatest Guardian of all time?
If not, how close is he?
These are all legitimate questions, and Cleveland sports analyst Bruce Drennan gave his honest answer about J-Ram’s place in this particular discussion.
“You go back to the ’48 team, you go to the ’54 championship team, you go to the 90s Cleveland Indians team, and there’s so many guys to choose from. But I’ve always said Jose is an underrated superstar nationally. That’s a great question, and still to be determined,” he said when asked if Ramirez was already the best in franchise history.
It wasn’t an emphatic no: instead, it was a ‘maybe he’ll get there when all is said and done.’
And he might get to a point in which there is no debate.
Right now, Ramirez is fourth among Guardians/Indians players in history in Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, with 54.7.
Lajoie is first with a 74.9 mark, followed by Speaker, Boudreau, and Ramirez.
The 32-year-old superstar could potentially surpass Lajoie and take the franchise lead, but it won’t be easy.
Even if he doesn’t, he is already among the very best to ever play in the organization.
He leads or is among the best in many statistical categories, and is well on his way to making a run at the Hall of Fame.
Ramirez is one of the best things to ever happen to Cleveland baseball.
