| Alex Ramírez | |
|---|---|
 Ramirez celebrating his 2000 career hits in 2013 | |
| Outfielder /Manager | |
| Born: (1974-10-03)3 October 1974 (age 51) Caracas, Venezuela | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Professional debut | |
| MLB: 19 September, 1998, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| NPB: 30 March, 2001, for the Yakult Swallows | |
| Last appearance | |
| MLB: 27 September, 2000, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| NPB: 8 October, 2013, for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .259 |
| Hits | 86 |
| Home runs | 12 |
| Runs batted in | 48 |
| NPB statistics | |
| Batting average | .301 |
| Hits | 2,017 |
| Home runs | 380 |
| Runs batted in | 1,272 |
| Games managed | 692 |
| Managerial record | 336–336 |
| Winning % | .499 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As a player:
As manager: | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
NPB
| |
| Member of the Japanese | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2023 |
Alexander Ramón Ramírez Quiñónez (born 3 October 1974), nicknamedRamichan (ラミちゃん), is aVenezuelan-born former professionalbaseballoutfielder who had a long career inNippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He is the only foreign player to record 2,000hits in NPB. He was inducted into theJapanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023, and theVenezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.[1]
Before playing in Japan, he played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theCleveland Indians (1998–2000) andPittsburgh Pirates (2000).
He managed theYokohama BayStars from 2016 to 2020.
Ramírez signed with theCleveland Indians as an international free agent in July 1991.[2][3] In 1995, he was areplacement player during theongoing strike for Cleveland, playing in onespring training game.[4][5] He was named the team's 1998 Minor League Player of the Year, getting theLou Boudreau Award.[6][7]
Ramírez made his MLB debut with Cleveland in 1998. On 28 July 2000, the Indians traded Ramírez andEnrique Wilson to thePittsburgh Pirates forWil Cordero.[8] Across three MLB seasons, Ramírezbatted .259 with 12home runs, 48runs batted in (RBI), 38runs scored, 17doubles, threetriples, and threestolen bases in 135games.
After the 2000 season, Ramírez signed with theYakult Swallows (2001–2007) and was theircleanup hitter. During his final season with the Swallows he set theCentral League record for most basehits in a single season with 204. (This record did not stand long, asHanshin Tigers outfielderMatt Murton surpassed Ramírez's tally en route to finishing the 2010 season with 214 hits.)
The 2007 season was Ramírez's last with the Swallows, who did offer him the multi-year contract he sought. Instead, the outfielder signed with theYomiuri Giants for the 2008 season. Ramírez quickly flourished with his new team. In 2008, he led theCentral League with 125 RBI while hitting .319 (sixth in the league) with 45 home runs (second). He also hit two home runs in Game 2 of theJapan Series, including one in the bottom of the ninth to win Game 2. At the end of the 2008 season, Ramírez won theCentral League MVP Award. He was the thirdVenezuelan player to be so honored in Japanese baseball, joiningRoberto Petagine (Central League, 2001) andAlex Cabrera (Pacific League, 2002).[9]
After playing eight seasons in NPB, Ramirez obtainedFA Right in 2008 and was no longer counted as a foreign player for roster purposes. As of 2017[update], only four foreign players in NPB history had accrued enough service time to achieve the classification.[citation needed]
On 6 April 2013, Ramirez hit a home run to record his 2,000 career hit in the NPB, becoming the 42nd player and the first foreign player to accomplish the feat. This accomplishment also earned Ramírez an invitation to theMeikyukai, a private club recognizing Japan's elite players. He was the first Western player to be so honored.[3][10]
Ramírez spent the 2014 season as aplayer-coach with theGunma Diamond Pegasus of Japan'sBaseball Challenge League. In 45 games, he hit .305 with 7 home runs and 38 RBI.[11] He retired after the 2014 season and became the Diamond Pegasus' senior director.[12]
In the middle of the 2015, Ramírez joined theOrix Buffaloes as an advisor, mentoring younger players.[13] In October 2015 he was named as the BayStars manager for the 2016 season, replacingKiyoshi Nakahata who resigned at the end of the 2015 season due to the team's poor performance.[14] In his first season managing, the team finished 69-71-3, finishing third in the Central League, and advancing to theClimax Series, where the BayStars defeated theYomiuri Giants, 2-1 in the first round before falling to theHiroshima Toyo Carp, 4-1, in the league championship round. In his second year as manager, the BayStars reached the2017 Japan Series, but lost to theFukuoka SoftBank Hawks, 4 games to 2. Ramírez coached the team through the 2020 season.[15]
Ramírez founded and coached Japan Breeze, which competed in the2025 Caribbean Series. The team went 0–4 and was no-hit in amercy rule loss in the tournament.[16][17]
| Nippon Professional Baseball | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | TB | RBI | SB | AVG | |||
| 2001 | 27 | Yakult | 138 | 510 | 60 | 143 | 23 | 0 | 29 | 253 | 88 | 1 | .280 | |||
| 2002 | 28 | Yakult | 139 | 539 | 65 | 159 | 25 | 0 | 24 | 256 | 92 | 0 | .295 | |||
| 2003 | 29 | Yakult | 140 | 567 | 105 | 189 | 34 | 3 | 40 | 349 | 124 | 4 | .333 | |||
| 2004 | 30 | Yakult | 129 | 525 | 79 | 160 | 30 | 2 | 31 | 287 | 110 | 2 | .305 | |||
| 2005 | 31 | Yakult | 146 | 596 | 70 | 168 | 19 | 1 | 32 | 285 | 104 | 5 | .282 | |||
| 2006 | 32 | Yakult | 146 | 603 | 79 | 161 | 28 | 2 | 26 | 271 | 112 | 0 | .267 | |||
| 2007 | 33 | Yakult | 144 | 594 | 80 | 204 | 41 | 3 | 29 | 338 | 122 | 0 | .343 | |||
| 2008 | 34 | Yomiuri | 144 | 548 | 84 | 175 | 28 | 0 | 45 | 338 | 125 | 1 | .319 | |||
| 2009 | 35 | Yomiuri | 144 | 577 | 66 | 186 | 35 | 0 | 31 | 314 | 103 | 4 | .322 | |||
| 2010 | 36 | Yomiuri | 144 | 566 | 93 | 172 | 28 | 0 | 49 | 347 | 129 | 1 | .304 | |||
| 2011 | 37 | Yomiuri | 137 | 477 | 39 | 133 | 12 | 1 | 23 | 216 | 73 | 2 | .279 | |||
| 2012 | 38 | DeNA | 137 | 476 | 40 | 143 | 25 | 0 | 19 | 225 | 76 | 0 | .300 | |||
| 2013 | 39 | DeNA | 56 | 130 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 14 | 0 | .185 | |||
| Total | 1,744 | 6,708 | 866 | 2,017 | 330 | 12 | 380 | 3,709 | 1,272 | 20 | ||||||
Statistics current as of 21 November 2014
In February 2013, Ramirez, his wife, and his son opened a restaurant in Tokyo called Ramichan Cafe, serving the cuisine of Puerto Rico, where his wife grew up.[18] The restaurant has since closed.
Ramirez has spoken about his faith, saying, "I believe [continuing to play baseball] is my desire, but it's not my life.God has already blessed me with this career, and whatever God has planned for me, I will be happy to follow that, whether or not I play baseball again. It's not what I want; it's what God wants for me."[19]
In January 2019, Ramirez became a Japanese citizen.[20]
· Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Indians' Minor League Player of the Year (theLou Boudreau Award) 1998 | Succeeded by |
