CLEVELAND, Ohio — In baseball, the phrase “one of one” isn’t thrown around lightly. Yet that’s exactly how the Cleveland Guardians’ coaching staff describes Jose Ramírez’s baserunning prowess – a skill set so rare and exceptional that it’s literally changing how the team approaches the game.
In Thursday’s 9-4 victory over the Marlins, Ramírez once again demonstrated why he’s climbing Cleveland’s all-time lists and redefining baserunning excellence in the modern era. With three hits, two stolen bases, and three runs scored, Ramírez officially passed Kenny Lofton for third place on Cleveland’s all-time runs scored list. Now only Tris Speaker and Earl Averill stand ahead of him in franchise history.
“I hope people realize that what they’re watching here is, is not normal,” Paul Hoynes emphasized on the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. “This is something special and we get to watch it day in and day out and for the last, what, 10 years?”
The contact play from third base – a high-risk maneuver where the runner breaks for home when the ball hits the bat – is typically a dangerous gamble for most teams. For Ramírez, it’s becoming a signature move. In Thursday’s game, Ramírez scored from third on a ground ball by C.J. Kayfus in the seventh inning, accelerating so quickly that Guardians manager Stephen Vogt couldn’t help but marvel at the uniqueness of the skill.
What makes Ramírez’s baserunning so exceptional isn’t just his speed – it’s his anticipation and acceleration. As Hoynes noted, “He accelerates so fast. It looks like two or three steps. He’s at top speed and just really great instincts.”
The podcast hosts compared a similar play from the Twins-Tigers game where another runner attempted the same feat but failed, highlighting just how rare Ramírez’s ability truly is. While other players hesitate or make inefficient movements, Ramírez seems to have a preternatural ability to read the play before it happens.
“It never works because you don’t have a guy on third base that runs like José Ramírez,” Hoynes explained about why the contact play often fails for other teams.
What’s even more remarkable is that at 32 years old, Ramírez isn’t slowing down. He’s currently tied for the major league lead with 35 stolen bases and is closing in on another 40-steal season. He’s just two steals away from passing Omar Vizquel (279) for second place on Cleveland’s all-time steals list, trailing only Lofton’s seemingly untouchable 452.
“That tells you something about how he’s taking care of his body and just, you know, his instincts and he hasn’t lost the step,” Hoynes observed.
For younger fans who may have missed Lofton’s prime – when he stole 75 bases in a single season and was practically unstoppable on the basepaths – Ramírez provides a modern glimpse of what elite baserunning looks like, albeit with his own unique style.
As the Guardians push for a playoff spot, Ramírez’s combination of power, contact hitting, and baserunning brilliance will be crucial. And while we’re witnessing it, we should remember we’re watching something truly special – a player writing his name alongside legends in Cleveland baseball history.
Want to hear more about Ramírez’s record-breaking performance and exceptional baserunning? Listen to the full episode of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast for in-depth analysis of his unique skills and how they’re powering the Guardians’ playoff push.
Podcast transcript
Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, the Guardians get it done. They win the series against the Marlins 9 to 4. The final on Thursday night. They, they take the game after falling behind again in the first inning by three. They sort of drew a line in the sand and said, you know, not here, not now. They came back three runs of their own against Edward Cabrera in that first inning, but really it was Jose Ramirez sort of the spark again. It never gets old talking about Jose climbing up the alt lists and charts in Guardians franchise history. He did it again on Thursday, passing Kenny Lofton for third place all to himself on the club’s all time runs scored list. He’s behind now Tris Joe Nogand Earl Averill and both of those guys within the next maybe year or two, if he stays on this trajectory, he’s going to have the most runs scored in franchise history. Just the all around game out of Jose Ramirez yesterday, particularly his, his excellence on the bases really stood out.
Paul Hoynes: So, you know, when you pass Kenny Lofton and run scored, you’re doing something right. I mean, Lofton was like one of the most dynamic players I’ve ever seen. And when, when Jose passes him, especially, you know, in a speed category or, or in a, you know, run production category, you know, you’re, you’re watching something special. And you’re right, Joe, I mean, what, he had three hits last night, two stolen bases, three runs scored. Just, you know, he scores on the contact play from third base. Just, you know, I hope people realize that what they’re watching here is, is not normal. You know, this is, this is something special and we get to watch it day in and day out and for the last, what, 10 years, we’ve got.
Joe Noga: To watch it, man. I was, you know, at pretty much the entire Cavaliers run between 2015 and 2018 when LeBron was out there, and I covered a lot of those games as well and, and you knew, you know, you were seeing something special, something great. You’re still seeing it going on when it was happening. What’s the quote from, from the Office when Andy says, I wish there was a way you knew you were in the good old days when they were going on. I think you got to take into account, you got to appreciate what Jose is able to do right now. And like you said, the contact play. Let’s go back to that because Austin Hedges and Steven Vogt both mentioned in the post game interviews about how really I asked Stephen Vogt, you know, how many guys score on plays like that and vote looked at me and he said, one. And he goes, you know, there’s a lot of really good baserunners in baseball. I don’t want to take anything away from them, but Hosey’s one of one. And really, you know, ground ball by CJ Kaifus in the seventh inning up the middle, and it almost looked like Ramirez was halfway down the line before the ball made contact with the bat. He gets good reads. He’s got great instincts. And then, you know, once he goes, he’s as fast as anybody on the bases. Sliding in ahead of the tag. It was just really one of those plays where, you know, even if they reviewed it, there’s. There’s no chance that he was going to be out.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he accelerates so fast, Joe. It looks like, you know, two or three steps. He’s at top speed and just, just, just really great instincts. And you’re right. I was watching a replay of that, and he was halfway down, down third baseline. I don’t think there’s. Unless I. Manning said it on tv. Unless that ball was hit right at, you know, Miami shortstop, they’re not throwing them out. I mean, you just can’t. And the catcher was trying to block the plate, and Jose was pointing to the umpire saying, you know, he can’t do that. But that, that didn’t matter anyways because he had scored. But really, really a great play that, that, you know, lots of people hate the contact play. You know, they. They say it never works. Well, it never works because you don’t have a guy on third base that runs like Jose Ramirez.
Joe Noga: Well, and just to Highl. And how unique. What he does is, is we. We watched the end of the Twins and Tigers game later on when we got back to the press box, and that was in the 11th inning. The. The automatic runner was at third base. And they had a check swing bouncer to the first baseman. The Twins did. It was the winning run in the bottom of the 11th. They had a chance to walk off right there. It was Alan Rhoden, who, you know, doesn’t have the experience or instincts that Jose Ramirez has. He was at third base. He. He tried to score on the check swing bouncer to first. Spencer Torkelson threw him out. I just realized watching it, I said, look at his first movement. His. His arm does something funny, and instead of, you know, putting it in gear and getting down the line, you compare that to what Ramirez did. Ramirez was practically across the plate in, in, at. At the same amount of Time that it took Roden to get things going. So that’s the reason why the Twins lost. That’s the reason why the Tigers won that game and were able to stay six and a half games of the Guardians for first place in the American League Central. We’ll get to the. The playoff implications of all that here in a minute. I just want to wrap up, you know, Ramirez and get back to, you know, talking about him climbing all these lists. You talked about, you know, you’re doing something right when you pass Kenny Lofton in a speed category. Well, you probably do the same. Say the same about Omar Visquel. You know, probably one of the better baserunners that you’ve covered in. In your career, your time covering Cleveland baseball. Jose Ramirez, two stolen bases last night stands two. Two steals away from passing Omar, who’s got 279 steals for Cleveland that he could be in second place behind Lofton. Now. Lofton’s got 452 steals. I don’t know if. If hosie will ever get that many, but I think Lofton’s record probably seems safe. But, you know, you and I were talking. That’s a ridiculous amount of steals to, to try and get.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I mean, Kenny, those were. I would love to see Kenny in this era right now where you two throw overs. I mean, he was getting. I think his Career High was 77 stolen bases in one year. Something some crazy number like that. When it’s, you know, when, when pitchers and teams really didn’t pay a lot of attention to the stolen base, they really didn’t stop it before the slide step and everything. But nowadays, you know, with, with the, with the what the minimum of. Or the only. You can only step off or throw over twice. Kenny would be off and running. But. But Jose, I mean, he’s closing in on another 40 stolen base season, Joe. I mean, and he lead the league.
Joe Noga: He’s tied for the major league lead right now at 35, and he’s 32 years old.
Paul Hoynes: So that tells you something about how he’s taking care of his body and just, you know, his instincts and he hasn’t lost the step.
Joe Noga: Well, Kenny Lofton was 29 years old in 19. He set his career high, led the majors with 75 steals that year. But you’re right. Kenny Lofton running in this day and age would be a sight to behold. Not only, you know, the. They have extra bigger bases. I mean, you talk about the fractions of inches. Even if a catcher were able to get a good throw off, it’s Closer now for Lofton to steal a base. You’re right. I just, I remember with Kenny was just the boldness and the daring of his leadoffs. He would get twice as big a leadoff as anybody else, just knowing that he could get back or, or take off for second base if you threw over.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, he was really fun to watch and he loved it too. You know, that was his game. And you know, during his, when he came to Cleveland, his first six, seven, eight years in Cleveland, you couldn’t stop him. I mean, he just, he ran wild and he, then he got a little upset because, you know, the home run hitters were getting all the money and then the stolen base guys were getting passed. He thought his game wasn’t being appreciated. But if you look at, you know, down through his, I mean, I don’t know how many bases he stole. I know he was, for a long time he was the leader in postseason steals. So, you know, just. This is a guy that was born.
Joe Noga: To run.622 career steals, 452 of them with Cleveland. For Kenny Lofton, a guy who should be in the hall of Fame without question. In, in my mind, I think every, every Gen X Cleveland baseball fan had that Kenny Lofton poster that said 90ft. And it gave all the, the metrics about how long it took Kenny Lofton, how many steps and how many seconds it took Lofton to take second base. So, you know, a lot of, lot of really good memories there. We mentioned the, the standings right now. The, the Guardians stayed six and a half games back of the Tigers in the American League Central race because they were able to win an extra innings in, in Minnesota. But with the Yankees being off, the Guardians were able to cut the, the deficit for the third wild card spot to a half game. If the Yankees lose tonight and the Guardians win tonight, the Guardians will be in a playoff position for the first time in a while.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, they have kept the pressure on the Yankees. They moved up through that, that wild card swamp. I think, you know, three, four or five weeks ago, they were about four and a half out with five teams in front of them. And those weren’t, weren’t even the three wildcard teams. So they, you know, on this hot streak that they’ve been on, they’ve really kind of, you know, navigated some traffic and they’re knocking on the door right now. Joe.
Joe Noga: Yeah, one of the reasons for that, the, the starting pitching. Last night’s starting pitcher, a Tanner Bybee, doesn’t really get, you know, I think lately he hasn’t been going as deep as he would like to. In some games. He did go five and what, five and two thirds or four and two thirds?
Paul Hoynes: No, five and two thirds last night.
Joe Noga: He did go five and two thirds innings last night before walking a batter. And they called for Eric Zabrowski to come in and finish off the, the sixth inning for him. But the way things started off, it looked like Bobby was falling into that unlucky category again. An infield hit some, some poor defense behind him and, you know, Austin Hedges makes an error on dropping a ball on a play where they had a runner dead to rights at home. Allows two runs to score. It looked like the wheels could have fallen off the cart for Bybe at that point, but he corrected things and got as, as deep as he did into the game. Just, you know, what, what are you seeing out of Bobby lately that gives you hope that he can, you know, sort of maintain this moving forward?
Paul Hoynes: No, he’s what, he’s five and oh, and his five. He’s won five straight decisions. I think the ball club, the Guardians are seven and oh, in his last seven starts. So, you know, he’s doing something right in that regard. But from your ace, you would like to see him throw fewer pitches. You know, don’t work so hard early in the game and get a little deeper into the, into the ball game. You know, get into the sixth, into the seventh inning. They need that. You know, the, the other road, you know, the, the, the 4, 4/5 of the rotation are doing that. But Bobby seems to, you know, he has trouble getting past that fifth, inner fifth inning. They’re, you know, getting, you know, through the sixth inning, I should say. But, you know, he’s, he’s, he’s, he’s, he’s one of those pitchers where, you know, the winds are coming his way this season. And what is he, 9 and 9 right now?
Joe Noga: I think even his record at 9 and 9. Yeah.
Paul Hoynes: So, you know, he’s getting decisions one way or the other. But you would like to see him, you know, pitch a little better early in the game. It seems like he always has that one bad inning or that one tough inning, you know, and it comes early.
Joe Noga: And Stephen Vogt said he was asked, you know, pregame about Bybe, and he said nobody gets, nobody in baseball gets to 02 on a, on a batter faster than Tanner Bybey, you know, and I sort of was asking the Guardians baseball information staff, you know, is there a way we can, is there a stat that we can hone in on to, you know, a way to quantify what votes said, you know, to see if indeed, you know, Bybee gets to two strikes, you know, faster or more often than anybody else. They said it’d be kind of hard to measure that specifically, but I just think, you know, you look up and he’s.02 in the count against a lot of guys. And then before you know it, it’s three and two and he’s given up a hit or a walk or just not being able to finish off a batter. And it’s not that he doesn’t have the pitch arsenal to do it. He’s got every pitch that you need to be able to finish a batter off that way. You and I were talking before we started recording here about Shane Bieber and how after a year or two in the league, Shane Bieber had that ability to finish off a batter in three to, you know, 3.5 pitches. He had the ability to finish off an inning in 10 pitches or less. And it was not just an ability, but he was consistently doing it. And that’s what made him so good. I think that’s the next step in the evolution for Tanner Bybey is to not just be efficient, but be ultra efficient like that. And that’s the separator between being a good starting pitcher and being a great one.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah. And you know, he, you know, Bieber had such good control, you know, even, you know, even in the minor leagues, he hardly walked anybody. I mean, this is a guy that, you know, just pounded the strike zone and, you know, by, you know, by. These are probably a little different pitcher, obviously, but he’s going to have to learn to, you know, to throw fewer pitches, to throw more quality strikes and to stay in the strike zone without getting hit.
Joe Noga: Yeah. And even if, even if they do put the bat on the ball, you know, you’re getting weak contact, you’re getting flyouts, ground outs, and those save your arm, those save your pitches and your pitch count and you can get a little deeper. All right. Want to talk about one of our favorite guys, Austin Hedges? Last night I wrote this morning about the, the walk up music maybe changing for him. Big My Chemical Romance fan Hoynsey is that that was Cal Quantrill’s warm up song. The. That Austin Hedges sort of wanted to sort of give him a wink and a nod as he stepped up to the plate and it wound up working. Hedges with two hits for the first time in almost a year. Last night he gets an RBI on a sack fly in the seventh and, and fans chanting his name as he steps up to the plate. He threw out a runner on the bases. It was a good night to be Austin Hedges at the ballpark last night for, for Hedgy.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you got to really like Hedges. Just, you know, what he brings, the energy he brings. And then he has a night like that, you know, long overdue. You know, this guy, you know, has never claimed to be Johnny Bench as a catcher, you know, very good defensive catcher. Offensively, you know, he’s still looking for it. But to have a night like that, whether single in the second inning, double in the. The six inning, and then the sacrifice fly in the forerunner, a good night all the way around, he throws a guy out at the, at the plate and he, and he’s just, you know, you never see him down, Joe. You never see him. You know, he’s always, you know, 100% positive that way. You never see him really, you know, you know, you know, down in the dumps or he’s down on the ball club, down on himself. It’s always, you know, looking forward and, you know, helping the pitcher and, you know, and he’s, and he’s so, you know, so positive. He, you know, when you talk to him, he goes, we’re trying to, we’re trying to win the World Series. We want to bring a World Series to Cleveland. I mean, not too many people would say that just kind of put the, put their neck on the line here and just come out and say that. It hasn’t happened since 1948. You know, there’s a lot of people still waiting for that.
Joe Noga: Yeah, the Hedges, I guess it’s sort of trying to speak it into existence. Every time you talk to him, he mentions it. So you’re right, you set your goals high, but you’re right that. That infectious personality. And again, you’re playing baseball, you’re playing professional baseball. Personality only goes, you know, I think, you know, the talent has to be there. And obviously he’s an elite backstop. He’s an elite game caller, pitch framer, blocker. You know, he can throw guys out on the bases with, with anybody. But Stephen Vogt said before the game, or. I’m sorry, Stephen Vogt said in his postgame, he said, you know, it’s great to see the work that Hedges has been doing pregame trying to hit, you know, fat, just even fastball changeup. He was out there hitting off the machine yesterday early and Vote said to see that translate into a couple of hits for him. You know, that that’s a positive step and you know, it’s something, you know, they’re. They’re not relying on this guy to hit.300 down the stretch, but any offensive contribution they can get out of him would be a welcome change.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, because, you know, they really haven’t gotten much pop at all out of the catching position. You know, Naylor has struggled. Hedges is what he is. If he could contribute a little bit more on the offensive end, that would be, you know, that would be welcome. But, you know, obviously his game is defense and running the pitching staff.
Joe Noga: All right, before we get going, wanted to mention the Ohio Casino Gaming Commission. What have you found out in the latest developments in the investigation into Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase?
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, the commission, Joe, the other day said that. That they had been tipped off on June 30 by an Ohio sports book that there were some irregular betting activities surrounding Guardians. The Guardians, pitchers Emmanuel Class A and Luis Ortiz, they immediately opened an investigation of their own and then were almost simultaneously contacted by mlb. So they’re conducting their own investigation on the Guardians, but they’re also working with MLB to, you know, try to uncover this and see what the extent of this gambling scandal is involving Class A and ortiz. Right now. MLB has the deadline, August 3rd. I don’t think there’s a deadline on the commission’s investigation, so we’ll have to see just what, you know, where. Where these two investigations lead and, you know, what are the consequences, Joe? What, you know, what can. You know, I haven’t been able to talk to the Ohio Commission people about what, you know, what kind of teeth do they have? What if they find wrongdoing? What can they do?
Joe Noga: Is it unusual for a sports book to report that sort of activity? Or is that something that’s. That. That’s a normal occurrence for the commission to receive reports like that?
Paul Hoynes: I think it’s. Since gambling became legal in Ohio, Joe, in 2023, I think it’s required. You know, there are certain, you know, sports books that. That work for the commission, just like there’s certain sports books that, you know, are. Have a relationship with mlb and they will contact, you know, the league or the commission if they see irregularities.
Joe Noga: Yeah. And, you know, algorithms and computer programs are probably used to. To sort of track surges in betting in that regard. And it’s probably pretty hard for those players to avoid detection if they just, you know, think that they’re able to go out there and do it out in the open and not. Not, you know, have red flags go off.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, it’s not like 50 years ago or 40 years ago where you called your bookie and no one, you know, on some dark, some down the, down the alley somewhere and, you know, he want two knocks on the door and said, you know, I’m bet, you know, put 50 on this guy or so, you know, something like that. You know, there’s evidence now. There’s, there’s, it’s. All this evidence is accumulating. And that’s, I think that’s what these guys didn’t realize. I mean, you know, every, if there’s irregularities, they’re going to be, they’re going to show up, you know, and if you’re connected with it, you’re in trouble.
Joe Noga: Yeah. I’m going to defer to somebody else on, you know, contenting, contacting a bookie. That was never something that I, you know, I ever had any interest in. So my dad did. Okay, well, there you go. All right. As far as, you know, what teeth they have or what enforcement they have, we’ve talked about, you know, the potential for them to hand off.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah.
Joe Noga: To federal agencies in terms of the charges there.
Paul Hoynes: Right. They could be felonies. They could, I’m not sure what, what they can impose, but they can hand it off to law enforcement agencies. Joe, if, if Ohio Commission, the Casino Commission is, is looking into these things, MLB is looking into these things. There’s got to be some more federal agencies that are probably doing the same thing here. This is, this is really going to be interesting to see if, when it comes out, what happens, just how widespread this is.
Joe Noga: Yeah. And how, you know, again, you said the, the August 31st deadline, but don’t be surprised if things maybe even go beyond that, because they want to make sure. Like we said before, if you’re going to impart, impose the harshest of penalties, then you’re going to want to make sure you have all of your T’s crossed and I’s dotted before you do that.
Paul Hoynes: And then you’ve got the players association, they can file a grievance, you know, so you get. We’ve got that. That’s a whole nother chapter.
Joe Noga: All right, Hoinsey, we’ll check in with you again next week on the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast.
Paul Hoynes: Right.
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