José Ramírez Yankees domination shows why he's a true Guardians legend 

In the top of the second inning on Aug. 9, 2014, José Ramírez dug into the batter’s box at Yankees Stadium and smashed his first career home run over the short porch. 

At the time, it seemed like Ramírez’s homer would be lost to time thanks to his middling career prospects. In fact, the broadcasters calling the game for FOX Sports were talking about how he was just a placeholder at shortstop until Francisco Lindor got called up. 

Not only has Ramírez turned into one of the best third baseman in all of baseball in the nearly 12 years since that home run, but he’s also become one of the best hitters in Yankee Stadium history. 

We got another example of that on Wednesday when he went 3-for-4 with a solo home run off Gerrit Cole. Ramírez has now gone 6-for-9 with three RBI in the first two games of the Guardians’ series against the Yankees and has a .412/.483/.733 slashline with 10 home runs and 22 RBI in 36 games at Yankee Stadium. 

José Ramírez continues to own the Yankees

When Ramírez hit that first career home run, he was the No. 8 hitter in Cleveland’s lineup sandwiched between Lonnie Chisenhall and Chris Dickerson. On Wednesday, he was Cleveland’s No. 2 hitter sandwiched between rookies Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter. 

A lot has changed in the Guardians’ lineup since Ramírez’s first career home run left the park, but Ramírez has been the one mainstay who has also been the engine in Cleveland’s lineup. 

“I felt good,” Ramírez said after the Guardians’ series-opening win on Tuesday, per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins. “I was trying to get a good pitch to hit, and luckily… the luck was on my side tonight.”

That win was an obvious step in the right direction given he tied his career-high with three doubles, but it also showed that his strong advanced stats weren’t a mirage. 

While he entered the series hitting just .228, his hard-hit rate and average exit velocity numbers were right in line with his career averages. It seemed like a breakout was right around the corner.

And that breakout has come via his two strong games at Yankee Stadium, which has raised his batting average by 17 points. 

He's also continuing to impact the game in other games as well. He has 39 walks this season compared to just 35 strikeouts and also leads the American League with 21 steals. He does everything needed to win.

While Ramírez’s struggles haven’t hindered Cleveland’s chances to be a contender this season (Wednesday’s win tied with the Rays and Yankees for the best record in the American League), their offense is clearly at its best when Ramírez is at his. 

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