Guardians History: The day when José Ramírez started building his Guardians legacy

While José Ramírez is one of the best players in MLB today, he was in a much different place 10 years ago. 

After putting together an okay season in 2015, he was thrust into an everyday utility the following season, which ended up serving as a springboard for his following decade of success. 

And Ramírez officially announced his presence 10 years ago today when he recorded a walk-off single against the Chicago White Sox in a win that pushed the Guardians to eight games above .500 in a season that resulted in a historic World Series. 

José Ramírez started etching his legacy 10 years ago today 

While Ramírez is entrenched at third base for the Guardians right now, the win was a tangible example of his utility player roots, as he started the game in left field before shifting over to third base midway through the game. 

He started the game 0-for-4 before digging into the box in the bottom of the tenth inning against White Sox pitcher David Roberston with two outs and the bases loaded. Chicago manager Robin Ventura made the decision to walk the bases loaded with just one out, and Ramírez made that decision look foolish. 

Although Roberston got Carlos Santana to pop out for the second inning, Ramírez topped a ball on the ground to the right side that snuck past José Abreu for a single that scored Rajai Davis. 

It may have just had an expected batting average of .240, but it had just enough on it to net the Guardians the win. 

"You give yourself more of a chance if you put the ball in play in those situations," Cleveland hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo said after the game. "How hard [a ball is hit] is going to help, too. The harder you hit the ball, the more chances you're going to have of getting a base hit. He's been pretty good at finding the barrel and hitting the ball hard."

Even if Ramírez’s walk-off single was his only hit of the game, he still went to bed that night with a .294/.361/.417 slashline with three home runs and 23 RBI. At the time, it looked like that kind of production was going to be the story of his career as a light-hitting infielder. 

But he finished that season on so much of a tear that he ended up finishing 17th in MVP voting. 

That ended up being a harbinger of what was to come, as Ramírez has earned seven All-Star nods in the nine full seasons since along with six top-five MVP finishes while becoming the face of baseball in Cleveland.

And he started paving the pathway to all those accolades 10 years ago today.

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