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:
Year | Age | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | 20 | PIT | 72 | 275 | 251 | 23 | 59 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 18 | 72 | .235 | .296 | .351 | .646 |
1999 | 21 | PIT | 18 | 64 | 56 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 9 | .179 | .254 | .250 | .504 |
2000 | 22 | PIT | 73 | 274 | 254 | 19 | 65 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 35 | 10 | 36 | .256 | .293 | .402 | .695 |
2001 | 23 | PIT | 158 | 655 | 603 | 83 | 181 | 40 | 0 | 34 | 112 | 40 | 100 | .300 | .350 | .536 | .885 |
2002 | 24 | PIT | 142 | 570 | 522 | 51 | 122 | 26 | 0 | 18 | 71 | 29 | 95 | .234 | .279 | .387 | .666 |
2003 | 25 | TOT | 159 | 670 | 607 | 75 | 165 | 32 | 2 | 27 | 106 | 42 | 99 | .272 | .324 | .465 | .788 |
2003 | 25 | PIT | 96 | 415 | 375 | 44 | 105 | 25 | 1 | 12 | 67 | 25 | 68 | .280 | .330 | .448 | .778 |
2003 | 25 | CHC | 63 | 255 | 232 | 31 | 60 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 39 | 17 | 31 | .259 | .314 | .491 | .805 |
2004 | 26 | CHC | 145 | 606 | 547 | 99 | 174 | 32 | 1 | 36 | 103 | 49 | 62 | .318 | .373 | .578 | .951 |
2005 ★ | 27 | CHC | 123 | 506 | 463 | 72 | 140 | 30 | 0 | 31 | 92 | 35 | 60 | .302 | .358 | .568 | .926 |
2006 | 28 | CHC | 157 | 660 | 594 | 93 | 173 | 38 | 4 | 38 | 119 | 50 | 63 | .291 | .352 | .561 | .912 |
2007 | 29 | CHC | 132 | 558 | 506 | 72 | 157 | 35 | 4 | 26 | 101 | 43 | 66 | .310 | .366 | .549 | .915 |
2008 ★ | 30 | CHC | 149 | 645 | 554 | 97 | 160 | 44 | 1 | 27 | 111 | 74 | 94 | .289 | .380 | .518 | .898 |
2009 | 31 | CHC | 82 | 342 | 306 | 46 | 97 | 14 | 1 | 15 | 65 | 28 | 43 | .317 | .389 | .516 | .905 |
2010 | 32 | CHC | 124 | 507 | 465 | 61 | 112 | 21 | 1 | 25 | 83 | 34 | 90 | .241 | .294 | .452 | .745 |
2011 | 33 | CHC | 149 | 626 | 565 | 80 | 173 | 35 | 1 | 26 | 93 | 43 | 69 | .306 | .361 | .510 | .871 |
2012 | 34 | MIL | 149 | 630 | 570 | 92 | 171 | 50 | 3 | 27 | 105 | 44 | 82 | .300 | .360 | .540 | .901 |
2013 | 35 | MIL | 92 | 351 | 304 | 43 | 86 | 18 | 0 | 12 | 49 | 36 | 55 | .283 | .370 | .461 | .831 |
2014 ★ | 36 | MIL | 133 | 531 | 494 | 47 | 141 | 23 | 1 | 15 | 66 | 21 | 75 | .285 | .330 | .427 | .757 |
2015 | 37 | TOT | 137 | 516 | 475 | 43 | 117 | 31 | 1 | 17 | 75 | 31 | 68 | .246 | .297 | .423 | .720 |
2015 | 37 | MIL | 81 | 302 | 279 | 25 | 69 | 18 | 0 | 11 | 42 | 16 | 42 | .247 | .295 | .430 | .725 |
2015 | 37 | PIT | 56 | 214 | 196 | 18 | 48 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 33 | 15 | 26 | .245 | .299 | .413 | .712 |
18 Yrs | 2194 | 8986 | 8136 | 1098 | 2303 | 495 | 24 | 386 | 1417 | 633 | 1238 | .283 | .341 | .492 | .833 | ||
162 Game Avg. | 162 | 664 | 601 | 81 | 170 | 37 | 2 | 29 | 105 | 47 | 91 | .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