Alejandro Ramos Jr. (born September 20, 1986) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Miami Marlins,

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, Colorado Rockies, and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

Professional career

Ramos attended

Estacado High School Estacado Early College High School is a 4A public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in Lubbock, Texas, (USA). It is part of the Lubbock Independent School District. Estacado is a magnet school, with programs in medicine, law and criminal ...

in Lubbock, Texas. He then enrolled at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...

. In 2008, Ramos underwent Tommy John surgery.

Miami Marlins

The

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

selected Ramos in the 21st round, with the 638th overall selection, of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. Ramos was called up to the majors for the first time on September 4, 2012. In 2014, Ramos had a 7–0

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

with a 2.11

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. Ramos became the Marlins'

closing pitcher In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL), is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is often assigned to a team's best relieve ...

in 2015, due to the struggles of

Steve Cishek Steven R. Cishek () (born June 18, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Cishek played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida / Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Chic ...

. In 2016, Ramos successfully converted his first 24 save opportunities, setting a franchise record. He was named to appear in the

2016 MLB All-Star Game The 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 87th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the San Diego Padres and was played at Petco Park on July 12, 2016. It was televised nationally on Fox. The Amer ...

. Ramos and the Marlins agreed on a $6.55 million salary for the 2017 season.

New York Mets

The

acquired Ramos from the Marlins in exchange for minor leaguers Merandy González and Ricardo Cespedes on July 28, 2017. In May 2018, Ramos suffered a shoulder strain that would keep him out for the rest of the season. He became a free agent on October 29, 2018.

Los Angeles Dodgers

In July 2020, Ramos announced he would be attempting a comeback to the major leagues. On July 2, Ramos signed a minor league deal with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

organization. He was released on August 28 without appearing in a game.

Chicago Cubs

On August 30, 2020, Ramos signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs organization. He was released by the organization on September 3, 2020.

Colorado Rockies

On September 4, 2020, Ramos signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies organization. On September 19, Ramos was selected to the major league roster, and made his first appearance in the majors since May 2018. He pitched in 3 games for Colorado, allowing 1 run in innings.

Los Angeles Angels

On March 24, 2021, Ramos signed a minor league contract with the

organization. Ramos was assigned to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark o ...

, making 42 appearances and working to a 5.26 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 53.0 innings of work. On September 23, 2021, Ramos' contract was selected by the Angels. In 4 major league games, Ramos gave up no runs while striking out 3 in 4.2 innings pitched. On March 11, 2022, Ramos re-signed with the Angels on a minor league contract. On March 29, Ramos was diagnosed with a torn capsule in his right shoulder, ending his season before it began. He was released by the team on April 5. On April 6, 2022, Ramos announced his retirement from professional baseball via Twitter.

Personal life

A.J. Ramos is an ambassador for Up2Us Sports, a national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting underserved youth by providing them with coaches trained in positive youth development. He is of Mexican American descent.http://redraiders.com/news/2017-04-06/lubbock-native-ramos-turns-down-wbc-ready-close-again-marlins

References

External links

*
Texas Tech Red Raiders bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, A. J. 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Lubbock, Texas Baseball players from Texas American baseball players of Mexican descent Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars Miami Marlins players New York Mets players Colorado Rockies players Los Angeles Angels players Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball players Jamestown Jammers players Greensboro Grasshoppers players Jupiter Hammerheads players Jacksonville Suns players Salt Lake Bees players Surprise Saguaros players