Jose Ramirez still impacting Guardians as hitter, infielder, leader

Former Guardians manager Terry Francona loves the way José Ramírez has developed into a baseball star. Francona returned to Progressive Field as the Cincinnati Reds manager for a series from May 15-17, and reminisced about Cleveland’s run to the 2016 World Series and about Ramirez . “Remember the first lead he took — f---, he was 20 feet out there.

I was like, god damn. Thought he was invisible,” Francona said with a laugh as he recalled seeing the Bani, Dominican Republic, native on base for the first time in a Major League Baseball game. Ramirez started at third base on Cleveland’s 2016 World Series team and continues to man the hot corner a decade later on a Guardians team atop the American League Central Division standings .

“For being 50 years old, he’s really impressive,” joked Jason Kipnis , who played with Ramirez, 33, from 2013-19. “We knew Jose was the player he is even before he turned into it. But it looks like he really has reached the best version of himself on the field, off the field as a leader in the clubhouse, all that stuff.

If you were to see someone who maxed out their potential and reached their best version, that’s what has happened to Jose. “He's so easy to root for. He’s very likeable.