With only five games left, Jose Ramirez has chance to join exclusive club

The Cleveland Guardians have secured a spot in the postseason, won the American League Central division, and are on the cusp of clinching a first-round bye in the American League playoffs. And while this may seem like the perfect opportunity for a star player such as Jose Ramirez to take it easy over the final few games of the season, that may not be the case as he is within reach of joining an exclusive club with very few members.

As things stand currently, Ramirez has 40 stolen bases and 37 home runs on the year, putting him three homers shy of joining the 40-40 club. Normally, someone this close to putting up a 40-40 season would get a lot more publicity, but Shohei Ohtani's unprecedented 50-50 season has taken center stage, resulting in Ramirez's 40-40 quest flying under the radar.

Should Ramirez be able to homer three more times and join the 40-40 club, he would join the above-mentioned Ohtani as the newest member. Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. was the most recent player to achieve this feat, doing so last year. Acuna Jr. was the first player to join the 40-40 club since Alfonso Soriano managed to all the way back in 2006. Ramirez's entry into this club would make him the seventh player ever to do so.

While there is no doubt that Ramirez will be pushing to join this club, there is no guarantee that he will be able to do so. With that being said, Ramirez has experienced some success in the home run department against a couple of projected starters Cleveland will face. Starting on Tuesday, the Guardians will face former Royals pitcher Jakob Junis, who Ramirez has homered off of twice before. Later this week, Cleveland will host the Houston Astros, with Justin Verlander slated to start on Friday. Ramirez has three home runs against Verlander in his career and could add another one should the two square off later this week.

It certainly seems like the stars are aligning to give Jose Ramirez the best chance to be the newest member of the 40-40 club. Ramirez has five games to homer three more times. That is more than enough opportunities for him, and you better believe he will do everything he can to put the finishing touches on what has been a fantastic season.