José Ramírez re-affirms love for Guardians with all-time quote 

The Cleveland Guardians and José Ramírez have grown to become a match made in heaven. 

While Ramírez is one of baseball’s biggest stars thanks to a passionate, unmatched playstyle, he’s now signed two team-friendly extensions with the club with the understanding that the Guardians would repurpose those savings to help build the roster. 

And although we’re going to have to wait a bit to see how the Guardians’ front office responds to his latest extension, it’s already clear that Ramírez is ready and excited to spend the rest of his career in Cleveland. 

On Thursday, Ramírez and the Guardians held a press conference at Progressive Field to officially announce the seven-year, $175 million extension that will keep him in Cleveland through the 2032 season. 

And Ramírez punctuated that press conference by dropping a generational quote: 

“I can call myself a 50-50: 50% Dominican, 50% Clevelander.” 

Not only is that an all-time quote from Ramírez, but it also is the perfect summation of how his personality has meshed with Cleveland. Although Ramírez doesn’t speak a ton, he always seems to have something to say when he does, and his love for the city always seems clear. 

And boy, does Cleveland love him back. Not only is one of the best third baseman in Guardians history, but he’s one of the best players in baseball. 

He’s played in the third-most games in Cleveland baseball history (1,609) along with having the third-most doubles (398), second-most home runs (285) and most extra-base hits (726). 

Not bad for a guy who was an undersized prospect who was initially viewed as a pinch-running specialist when he first got to the bigs. 

It’s clear that winning is paramount to Ramírez, and him taking those hometown deals is a tangible example of that. Everyone knows that the Guardians’ ownership group can be… frugal, so there’s no way they’d be able to sign Ramírez to a market-value deal and build a strong roster around him. 

It’s a perfect match, and one that should be a fruitful for years to come. 

Not only has Ramírez been a standout performer on the field, but he’s also become a strong presence in the clubhouse as well. Almost every young player in the Guardians’ clubhouse gravitates toward Ramírez, and he always seems ready to provide as much insight as possible to whoever needs it. 

It’s impossible to talk about the current iteration of the Cleveland Guardians without talking about Ramírez, and his new extension confirms that he’s going to be a mainstay in that conversation for years to come. 

“He sets the standard for us,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said at the press conference. “We’re incredibly fortunate to be along for the ride with (Ramírez).”