Is Jose Ramirez the best third baseman in all of baseball?
Everyone is already very much aware of how good Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez is. But is Ramirez the best third baseman in all of baseball at the current moment? According to Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report, the answer is a resounding yes.
Rymer included Ramirez as the top third baseman in a list of The Best MLB Player at Every Position Right Now. Edging out some of the best names in the sport including Houston's Alex Bregman and Boston's Rafael Devers. Noted is that Ramirez leads all third basemen in OPS+ (136) and fWAR (2.4), pretty impressive to say the least.
Ramirez' abilties as a defender are specifically mentioned by Rymer.
This is also shaping up to be one of the four-time All-Star's better seasons on defense. After posting just three throughout all of 2022, he's already up to six Outs Above Average in 2023.
Defense has alway been an overlooked aspect of Ramirez' abilties as most of hist highlights come while in the batter's box or running the bases with or without his helmet. There has been the occasional defensive web gem from Ramirez, but most of the time any top play is due to his hitting the ball, not fielding it.
The fact that Ramirez is getting attention on a national level is way overdue. Sure, there are some outlets, analysts, etc. who go out of their way to specifically mention Ramirez, but he does not get the attention that he is more than deserving of considering his consistent play and five finishes in the top six of American League Most Valuable Player voting.
It has been very apparent to anyone who has actually taken the time to watch Ramirez play that he is indeed the best third baseman in the game. Perhaps this is the beginning of Ramirez finally getting the recognition on a national scale that he is more than deserving of.