Alexander Ramón Ramírez Quiñónez (born 3 October 1974) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n-born Japanese 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

who had a long career in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He is the first foreign-born player to record 2,000

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

s while playing in NPB. Before playing in Japan, 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

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

(1998–2000) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2000). He batted and threw right-handed. In October 2015 he was named as the BayStars manager for the 2016 season.

Professional baseball career

American minor leagues

He was named the Indians' 1998 Minor League Player of the Year (receiving the " Lou Boudreau Award").

Major League Baseball

Ramírez made his MLB debut with the

in 1998. On 28 July 2000, the Indians traded Ramírez and

Enrique Wilson Enrique Wilson Martes (born July 27, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. In his eight-season Major League Baseball career, Wilson played with the Cleveland Indians (1997–2000), Pittsburgh Pirates (2000–01), New York Ya ...

to the Pittsburgh Pirates for

Wil Cordero Wilfredo Cordero Nieva (born October 3, 1971) is a former shortstop, first baseman, and outfielder in Major League Baseball. He was best known as a member of the Montreal Expos (1992–1995, 2002–2003). Cordero made his Major League Baseball d ...

. Across three MLB seasons, Ramírez batted .259 with 12

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 48

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI), 38 runs scored, 17 doubles, three triples, and three stolen bases in 135 games played.

Nippon Professional Baseball career

After the 2000 season, Ramírez signed with the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

(2001–2007) and was their

cleanup hitter In baseball, a cleanup hitter is the fourth hitter in the batting order. The cleanup hitter is traditionally the team's most powerful hitter. His job is to "clean up the bases", i.e., drive in base runners. Theory The thinking behind the us ...

. During his final season with the Swallows he set the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

record for most base hits in a single season with 204. (This record did not stand long as

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

outfielder Matt Murton surpassed Ramírez's tally en route to finishing the 2010 season with 214 hits.) The 2007 season, however, proved to be Ramírez's last with the Swallows, who did offer him the multi-year contract he sought. Instead, the outfielder signed with the Yomiuri Giants for the 2008 season. Ramírez quickly flourished with his new team. In 2008, he led the Central League with 125 RBI while hitting .319 (6th in the league) with 45 home runs (2nd). He also hit two home runs in Game 2 of the Japan Series, including one in the bottom of the ninth to win Game 2. At the end of the 2008 season, Ramírez won the Central League MVP Award. He was the third

n player to be so honored in Japanese Baseball, joining

Roberto Petagine Roberto Antonio Petagine Hernandez (; born June 2, 1971) is a retired professional baseball player of Italian descent. His Major League Baseball career includes brief stints with the Houston Astros (1994), San Diego Padres (1995), New York Met ...

(Central League, 2001) and

Alex Cabrera Alexander Alberto Cabrera (born December 24, 1971) is a Venezuelan first baseman and right-handed batter who played in 2000 for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball and for 12 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. Also played sev ...

(Pacific League, 2002). After playing eight seasons in NPB, Ramirez obtained FA Right in 2008 and was no longer counted as a foreign player for roster purposes. As of 2017, only four foreign players in NPB history had accrued enough service time to achieve the classification. On 6 April 2013, Ramirez hit a home run to record his 2,000 career hit in the NPB, becoming the 42nd player and the first foreign player to accomplish the feat. This accomplishment also earned Ramírez an invitation to the

Meikyukai The is one of the two baseball halls of fame in Japan, the other being the . The Meikyukai is a limited company for public benefit. Founded by Hall of Fame pitcher Masaichi Kaneda in 1978, the Meikyukai honors players born after 1926 (the begi ...

, a private club recognizing Japan's elite players. He was the first Western player to be so honored.

Baseball Challenge League

Ramírez spent the 2014 season as a

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

with the

Gunma Diamond Pegasus The are a semi-professional baseball team in the Baseball Challenge League of Japan. The team was established as part of the expansion of the league, and began play in the 2008 season. Their home is Gunma Prefecture. Franchise history The Di ...

of Japan's

Baseball Challenge League The Route Inn BCL, formerly known as the , is an independent minor baseball league in Japan. The league's abbreviated designation is "." League structure The Baseball Challenge League has three divisions, East, Middle, and West, with four teams ...

. In 45 games, he hit .305 with 7 home runs and 38 RBI. He retired after the 2014 season and signed on as the Diamond Pegasus' Senior Director.

Coaching

In the middle of the 2015 Ramírez joined the Orix Buffaloes as an advisor, mentoring younger players. In October 2015 he was named as the BayStars manager for the 2016 season, replacing

Kiyoshi Nakahata is a Japanese former Nippon Professional Baseball player. He played for the Yomiuri Giants (1976–1989). He managed the Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yoko ...

who resigned at the end of the 2015 season due to the team's poor performance. In his first season managing, the team finished 69-71-3, finishing third in the Central League, and advancing to the

Climax Series The is the current annual playoff system implemented by Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It determines which team from the Central League (CL) and from the Pacific League (PL) will advance to compete for the championship in the Japan ...

, where the BayStars defeated the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

, 2-1 in the first round before falling to the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

, 4-1, in the league championship round. In his second year as manager, the BayStars reached the

2017 Japan Series The 2017 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2017'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason. The 68th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the F ...

, but lost to the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

, 4-2.

Career statistics

''Statistics current as of 21 November 2014''

Business career

In February 2013, Alex Ramirez started, with his wife and his son, a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, called Ramichan Cafe, serving the cuisine of Puerto Rico, where his wife grew up. The restaurant has since closed. Ramirez has spoken about his faith saying, "I believe (continuing to play baseball) is my desire, but it's not my life.

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

has already blessed me with this career, and whatever God has planned for me, I will be happy to follow that, whether or not I play baseball again. It's not what I want; it's what God wants for me." As of January 2019, he has naturalised as a Japanese national.

References

External links

*
Retrosheet
*
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics

Alex Ramirez Web Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Alex 1974 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Bakersfield Blaze players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Canton-Akron Indians players Cardenales de Lara players Caribes de Oriente players Cleveland Indians players Columbus RedStixx players Japanese Christians Venezuelan emigrants to Japan Kinston Indians players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Managers of baseball teams in Japan Nippon Professional Baseball left fielders Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Naturalized citizens of Japan Baseball players from Caracas Pittsburgh Pirates players Sportspeople from Winter Haven, Florida Tokyo Yakult Swallows players Venezuelan Christians Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Yakult Swallows players Yokohama DeNA BayStars players Yokohama DeNA BayStars managers Yomiuri Giants players