| Wilson Ramos | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ramos with theNew York Mets in 2019 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1987-08-10)August 10, 1987 (age 37) Valencia, Venezuela | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 2, 2010, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| MLB statistics (through 2021 season) | |
| Batting average | .271 |
| Home runs | 136 |
| Runs batted in | 534 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Wilson Abraham Ramos Campos (born August 10, 1987), nicknamed "the Buffalo", is a Venezuelan former professionalbaseballcatcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theMinnesota Twins,Washington Nationals,Tampa Bay Rays,Philadelphia Phillies,New York Mets,Detroit Tigers, andCleveland Indians as well as for theLong Island Ducks of theAtlantic League of Professional Baseball. He is a two-timeAll-Star, and aSilver Slugger Award winner.
Ramos signed with theMinnesota Twins as a non-draftedfree agent on July 7, 2004. He caught 43% of potential base stealers in hisminor league career, and had a .987fielding percentage. In 2008, with the Twins' High-A affiliate, theFort Myers Miracle, he batted .242 with eighthome runs and 42runs batted in (RBIs) in the first half of the 2008 season, helping his team capture theFlorida State League first-half West Division title. When 2008 Florida State League All-Star catcher James Skelton of theLakeland Flying Tigers suffered an injury, Ramos was added to the West Division All-Star team, joining teammatesRob Delaney,Brian Dinkelman,Jeff Manship,Anthony Slama andDanny Valencia.[citation needed]
Ramos'batting average jumped to .333 in the second half of 2008. For the season, he batted .288 with thirteen home runs, and was named to the All FSL Team. His 78 RBIs was fourth in the Florida State League.[1]
Ramos entered the 2009 season ranked as the Twins third best prospect byBaseball America behindAaron Hicks andBen Revere,[2] and #71 in all ofminor league baseball. The Twins added Ramos to their 40-man roster, and invited him toSpring training. After which, he was assigned to the Twins' double AEastern League affiliate, theNew Britain Rock Cats.[3] He broke his right index finger in May and suffered a hamstring injury in June, forcing him to do a nearly two-month rehab assignment, during which he hit three home runs in five games with theGulf Coast League Twins. Ramos rejoined his team in August, and batted .317 with four home runs and 29 RBIs for the season.
Ramos batted over .400 in spring training in 2010. However, withJoe Mauer behind the plate, the Twins sent Ramos to the Triple-ARochester Red Wings rather than have him serve in a back-up role in the majors.[4]
Ramos received his first major league call-up on May 1, when Mauer was sidelined by a bruised left heel and was limited to emergency pinch hitting.[5] Ramos took the roster spot ofPat Neshek, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 29 with inflammation of the middle finger on his right hand.[6]
On May 2, facing theCleveland Indians, Ramos slapped a single between third base and theshortstop in the top of the second inning for his first major league hit. Ramos went four-for-five on the day with threesingles and adouble. He is the first Twins player sinceKirby Puckett in 1984 to collect four hits in a major league debut, and the only catcher in modern history (since 1900) to collect four hits in his MLB debut.[7] On May 3, he followed up his debut by going 3 for 4 and driving in his first RBI. All told, he played seven games with the Twins while filling in for Mauer, batting .296 with three doubles and one RBI. On May 13, with Mauer ready to return to action, andJosé Morales coming off the DL, Ramos was reassigned to Rochester.[citation needed]
On July 29, 2010, Ramos was traded to theWashington Nationals along with Joe Testa forcloserMatt Capps.[8] In 2011, Ramos was chosen byBaseball America as the catcher on itsAll-Rookie Team.[9] On May 12, 2012, Ramos tore ananterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee while trying to field a passed ball in a game against theCincinnati Reds. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list for the 2012 season.[10]
Ramos andKurt Suzuki began 2013 as the Nationals starting catchers. However, on April 13, Ramos hurt his hamstring while trying to beat out a ground ball, putting him on the disabled list, withJhonatan Solano replacing him and Suzuki started.[11] After being activated on April 29, Ramos quickly went back on the disabled list on May 16 with the same injury.[12] Ramos was activated on July 4, and in his first game back against the Brewers, he went 3–4 with a three-run home run and five RBI game. His solid July, in which he hit .302/.333/.540 with four home runs and 17 RBI in 18 games, earned him more starts over Suzuki before they eventually traded Suzuki to Oakland on August 23.[13] Ramos finished the year as the starting catcher. In 78 games with the Nationals, Ramos hit .272/.307/.470 with 16 home runs and 59 RBI.
Ramos broke his left hand in the opening game of the 2014 season and left the game. A foul tip hit his hand while he was catching.[14] Ramos received theTony Conigliaro Award following the 2014 season.[15]
In 2015, Ramos hit .229 in a career-high 475 at-bats, with 15 homers, 68 RBIs and 101 strikeouts. His .258 on base percentage was the lowest of all qualified major league batters.[16]
On June 16, 2015, Ramos had an unusual 2 home run game, where both homers came off of position players. The Nationals were blowing out the Rays (the final score was 16-4) and the Rays used position players Jake Elmore and Nick Franklin to pitch the 8th and 9th innings, in both of which Ramos homered.[citation needed]
On January 13, 2016, he and the Nationals agreed to a one-year, $5.35 million deal to avoid salary arbitration.[17]
Ramos was thebattery-mate for Nationals pitcherMax Scherzer on May 11, 2016, when Scherzer struck out 20 batters to tieRoger Clemens andKerry Wood for themajor league single-game strikeout record in a 9-inning game.[18] He was named to the2016 MLB All-Star Game. In 131 games in the 2016 season, Ramos batted .307 with 22 home runs and 80 RBI. On September 26, 2016, Ramos suffered atorn ACL, ending his season.[19] Despite his slightly shortened season, Ramos won theSilver Slugger forNational League catchers.
Despite leaving the Nationals following the 2016 season, Ramos has said he looks back on his time with the team as a period of "great moments," including his first career walk-off home run (offSeattle Mariners pitcherDavid Pauley) on June 21, 2011.[20][21]
On December 12, 2016, Ramos signed a two-year contract worth $12.5 million with theTampa Bay Rays.[22]
Ramos made his Rays debut on June 24 against theBaltimore Orioles and went 1–4 with a single. Wilson missed the first three months of the 2017 season with Tampa Bay due to his torn ACL injury he suffered the season before. He struggled at the plate his first 35 games upon his return, hitting only .194, but bounced back and hit .330 for the last 29 games of 2017. Ramos batted .260 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI, despite only playing in 64 games during the 2017 season. He had the third-slowest baserunning sprint speed of all major league players, at 22.8 feet/second.[23]
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On July 31, 2018, Ramos was traded to thePhiladelphia Phillies for a player to be named later.[24] Between the two teams, in 2018 in aggregate he batted .306/.358/.487 with 15 home runs in 382 at bats.[25] He again had the third-slowest baserunning sprint speed of all major league players, at 22.8 feet/second.[26]
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On December 18, 2018, theNew York Mets signed Ramos to a two-year, $19 million deal.[27] In 2019 he batted .288/.351/.416, and had the highestground ball percentage in the major leagues (62.4%), and the lowest fly ball percentage in the majors (19.2%).[28] On defense, he had a -13Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, the lowest in the major leagues among catchers, and led all major league catchers in stolen bases allowed, with 94.[29][30]
Mets catcher Wilson Ramos had a career-best 26-game hitting streak through September 4, 2019.[31] It was tied withDavid Wright in 2006–07 for the second-longest streak in Mets history,[32] was the longest ever for a Mets catcher,[33] and was the longest in the MLB since Freddie Freeman's 30-game streak for theAtlanta Braves in 2016.[32]
In 2020, Ramos hit .239/.297/.387 with 5 home runs and 15 RBIs in 45 games during the 60-game season. On defense Ramos tied for the NL lead in stolen bases allowed, with 28.[34]
On October 28, 2020, the Mets declined a $10 million option on Ramos' contract for the2021 season. He was instead given a $1.5 millionbuyout and declared a free agent.[35]
On January 29, 2021, theDetroit Tigers signed Ramos to a one-year, $2 million contract.[36] Ramos hit .200/.238/.392 with 6 home runs and 13 RBI in 35 games for Detroit before being designated for assignment on June 15, 2021.[37] He was released by Detroit on June 20.[37]
On July 6, 2021, Ramos signed a minor league contract with theCleveland Indians organization.[38] Ramos was assigned to the Triple-AColumbus Clippers. The Indians selected Ramos's contract on August 6.[39] On August 29, Ramos suffered his third careerACL tear along with anMCL sprain, which effectively ended his 2021 season.[40] Between the two teams, in 2021 he batted .205/.248/.397, while on defense he caught 16% of attempted base stealers. Ramos became a free agent on November 3.
On August 16, 2022, Ramos signed a minor league contract with theTexas Rangers.[41] Ramos played in 3 games for the Triple-ARound Rock Express, going 2-for-9 with a walk.[42] He was released by the Rangers organization on September 10.
On April 27, 2023, Ramos signed with theAcereros de Monclova of theMexican League.[43] In 12 games, he batted .200/.304/.250 with 8 hits and 3 RBIs. Ramos was released on May 15.[44]
On June 27, 2023, Ramos signed with theLong Island Ducks of theAtlantic League of Professional Baseball.[45] In 40 games for Long Island, he batted .233/.284/.353 with 3 home runs and 24 RBI. Ramos became a free agent following the season.[46]
Ramos was a member for the2009 Caribbean Series champions, theTigres de Aragua, of Venezuela. He played very well that series, hitting .385/.529/.385 and was selected as the series' all-star for the catcher position.[citation needed]
Ramos participated in the2024 Caribbean Series, held atLoanDepot Park inMiami, Florida, as a member for theTiburones de La Guaira, the team representingVenezuela in the series. The team was managed by former MLB player and managerOzzie Guillen, as well as having former MLB playersCarlos Zambrano andEndy Chavez on the staff as the pitching coach and 1st base coach, respectively.[46]
While inValencia,Venezuela on November 9, 2011, at approximately 6:45 pm local time, Ramos was kidnapped at gunpoint from his mother's home. According to hisaccount four gunmen threw Ramos into the back of a Chevrolet Captiva and drove him to a mountainous region near the town ofMontalban, Venezuela. On November 10, 2011 at approximately 4:00 pm local time, Ramos was reported alive.[47] Originally back in his homeland to play during the offseasonfor his Venezuelan team,Tigres de Aragua, Ramos was rescued on November 12, 2011.
A declassifiedDepartment of State cable, obtained byThe National Security Archive through aFreedom of Information Act request, shows that Venezuela's Corps of Scientific, Penal, Criminal Investigative Corps (CICPC) "already had the abductors under investigation prior to Ramos's kidnapping because the group had kidnapped other individuals in the same area of Valencia."[48] Because of this theCICPC was able to immediately identify the kidnappers and their location. After being held in captivity for 50 hours, the police rescued Ramos after exchanging gunfire with the kidnappers. According to the declassifiedState Department cable, the exchange of gunfire was an intentional CICPC technique used to create a "diversion to disorient the abductors during the raid."[49]
The former President of VenezuelaHugo Chavez repeatedly called CICPC for updates on the rescue mission.[50] The declassified cable from the State Department also indicated that around 300 CICPC officials worked to rescue Ramos. Six people were arrested in relation to the kidnapping, although aSports Illustratedarticle speculated that these arrests may have been arbitrary.
Reflecting over the incident, Ramos said "I'm very thankful, and I feel like I've been born again."[51]
Ramos has one child, born in August 2014.[52] Two of his brothers are also baseball players. Natanael was a minor league catcher in theNew York Mets organization, and David was a pitcher in the Nationals organization.[53]
Ramos has expressed an interest in a career in coaching after he retires saying, "It's something I'd love to do. I know how to play baseball. I've learned a lot, and I know I can really help the young guys get the best out of themselves and move forward in this game."[46]
