Sunday, April 06

Welcome back to the Guardians Beat newsletter. My name is Tim Stebbins, and this is my first season covering Cleveland for MLB.com.

One game stood between José Ramírez and history last September, when the Guardians third baseman was on the precipice of achieving a rare 40-homer, 40-double and 40-stolen base season. As it later turned out, Mother Nature also stood in the way.

The Guardians’ final regular-season game last year was rained out, leaving Ramírez just shy of joining the exclusive 40-40-40 club. He finished with 39 homers, 39 doubles and 41 stolen bases in 158 games. Alfonso Soriano (2006) remains the only player to pull off the 40-40-40 feat.

It could be easy to look back at the past and wonder what could have been, but Ramírez has kept his focus on the present and beyond. If anything, coming close to history is motivating.

“I’m a little weird in that aspect. I don’t think of things [like] that,” Ramírez said recently through team interpreter Agustin Rivero. “I think everything happens for a reason. And the reason that happened is to get an extra tool to work hard this offseason. One of the reasons I worked harder this year is to try to get that goal.”

Ramírez (who returned to the Guardians’ lineup on Monday after missing one game with a right wrist sprain) is already a six-time All-Star and a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He earned both honors last season while also finishing fifth in AL MVP Award voting. Any added motivation he has figures to be a scary proposition for opponents.

With 2024 as a backdrop, Ramírez’s offseason work included a focus on readying himself physically for his 13th big league season. At 32 years old, he recognizes the necessary preparation to be ready for a 162-game season is different compared to earlier in his career. He broke into the Majors in 2013 at age 20.

Ramírez said he’s the same weight now as he was at the end of last season (he’s listed at 5-foot-9, 200 pounds), but he was strict with his intake and increased his muscle mass while trimming body fat over the winter.

“It's nothing radical,” Ramírez said. “It's just something that allows me to be the best version of myself.”

The best version of Ramírez has proven to be one of the top hitters in the Majors and someone the Guardians count on day in and day out. He’s played in 681 of a possible 708 games from 2020-24. Even after suffering a right wrist sprain on Saturday against the Royals, he was only out of the starting lineup for one game, on Sunday.

In his return on Monday against the Padres, Ramírez went 3-for-4 while hitting his first double and first homer of the season.

Considering his offseason work, Ramírez was asked -- in good fun -- about a possible 50-50 season, after his near 40-40-40 campaign.

“I would love to do 100-100, but the game is not easy,” he said. “So I’ll do my best and try to do as much as I can.”

MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST

TRIVIA

Ramírez finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle on Monday against the Padres, and Kyle Manzardo came a single shy on Opening Day against the Royals. Who was the last Cleveland player to pull off the feat?

A. Michael Brantley

B. Jake Bauers

C. Shin Soo-Choo

D. Jason Kipnis

AN EARLY TREND

One trend by the Guardians’ offense to start the season has been its patient approach. Entering Tuesday, Cleveland hitters were averaging 4.07 pitches per plate appearance (tied for seventh in the Majors with the Mariners). Last season, Guardians hitters averaged 3.83 pitches per plate appearance (tied with the Rangers and A’s for 22nd).

“We’ve been aggressive early and then making them work,” manager Stephen Vogt said over the weekend. “[Hitting coach Grant Fink] and the hitting group have done a great job of game planning, and our hitters are buying into it. I feel like we're swinging at the right pitches and taking the borderline ones.”

In the season-opening series, the Guardians worked the pitch counts of Royals starters Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. Ragans threw 83 pitches in five-plus innings, Lugo threw 86 in five and Wacha threw 87 in four.

If nothing else, such an approach can be physically taxing on opposing pitchers early and lead teams to go to their bullpens sooner than they may like. It’s something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

CATCH THE GUARDIANS’ FIRST HOMESTAND

Tickets are available for the Guardians’ first homestand of the 2025 season. Cleveland will host Chicago (April 8-10) and Kansas City (April 11-13) at Progressive Field, following their six-game road trip this week against the Padres and Angels.

More information on single-game tickets can be found here. And as a reminder, the Guardians’ Ballpark Pass is back for 2025. For $54 a month, fans can attend any home game via a standing-room only ticket. That includes the sold-out April 8 home opener. More info on Ballpark Pass is available here.

TRIVIA ANSWER

B. Jake Bauers

Bauers became the ninth Cleveland player to hit for the cycle on June 14, 2019, in a 13-4 win over the Tigers. Bauers completed it with a two-run homer off Blaine Hardy in the eighth inning, and he finished the game 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Before Bauers, Rajai Davis was the most recent Cleveland player to hit for the cycle, when he did so on July 2, 2016, against the Blue Jays.

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