Aramis Ramirez – the one that got away who came back again

It is the most tired and overused trope in romantic comedies. Guy meets girl then guy falls in love. Guy and girl have good times. Something happens to rip girl and guy apart. Something else happens yadda yadda yadda, girl and guy reunite in the final act. Sure, the window dressing might be different but the general themes are the same.

For years, the Pittsburgh Pirates found themselves bucking this trend as the ones that got away usually stayed away. Far away from the cesspool that was the Pirates for most of the 20 year streak. The names are numerous – Jason Bay, Jason Schmidt, Brian Giles…we could go on and on. 

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Through the prolonged mass exodus, the one name that fans kept repeating was Aramis Ramirez. To many fans he was ‘The one that got away.” While the names listed above and many others had okay careers after their time in Pittsburgh, it was Ramirez and his steady consistency that truly rubbed it in the nose of fans. With each season of 25 home runs with good RBI totals, fans were reminded of the hell that they were in. Ramirez playing in the division was another heaping dose of salt in the wound.

They are called cliches for a reason. And though the example I gave above rarely happens in sports, who better than Ramirez to bring this cliche to life in the twilight of his career?

It gets lost how crazily consistent Ramirez was as a hitter. Look at his career numbers below:

YearAgeTmGPAABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
199820PIT722752512359916241872.235.296.351.646
199921PIT186456210210769.179.254.250.504
200022PIT7327425419651526351036.256.293.402.695
200123PIT158655603831814003411240100.300.350.536.885
200224PIT1425705225112226018712995.234.279.387.666
200325TOT15967060775165322271064299.272.324.465.788
200325PIT964153754410525112672568.280.330.448.778
200325CHC6325523231607115391731.259.314.491.805
200426CHC14560654799174321361034962.318.373.578.951
2005 ★27CHC1235064637214030031923560.302.358.568.926
200628CHC15766059493173384381195063.291.352.561.912
200729CHC13255850672157354261014366.310.366.549.915
2008 ★30CHC14964555497160441271117494.289.380.518.898
200931CHC82342306469714115652843.317.389.516.905
201032CHC1245074656111221125833490.241.294.452.745
201133CHC1496265658017335126934369.306.361.510.871
201234MIL14963057092171503271054482.300.360.540.901
201335MIL92351304438618012493655.283.370.461.831
2014 ★36MIL1335314944714123115662175.285.330.427.757
201537TOT1375164754311731117753168.246.297.423.720
201537MIL81302279256918011421642.247.295.430.725
201537PIT5621419618481316331526.245.299.413.712
18 Yrs219489868136109823034952438614176331238.283.341.492.833
162 Game Avg.16266460181170372291054791.283.341.492.833

There’s a lot to digest here, but what stands out me is Ramirez’s absurd 15.2% strikeout rate. The guy was never a hard out at any point in his career after becoming an established everyday big league third baseman. In 2012 at the age of 34, Ramirez led the league in doubles with 50 (!) in addition to his 27 homers. He hit less than .250 only twice in his career (again after establishing himself as an everyday hitter), and one of those years was 2015, his age 37 season. The term “professional hitter” gets bandied about in any extended conversation with Ramirez, and it’s a very apt moniker.

The thing to remember here is that there is still some time left for Aramis Ramirez to provide a nice bookend magical moment or two for the team that he broke in with back in the waning days of the last millennium. But even if he doesn’t take another swing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Ramirez has proven that sometimes, cliches are a good thing.

I mean..it always works out in the movies doesn’t it?

Considering the way this magical season has gone…a happy ending isn’t out of the question for either Ramirez or the Pirates

Next: Pirates wrap-up home field in Wild Card Game

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