Kenneth Cecil Ramos (June 6, 1967 – May 15, 2016) was an

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 ...

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), ...

who played for the Houston Astros in its 1997 season. Listed at 6 foot 1 inch, 185 pounds, he batted and threw left handed.Major League Baseball statistics and history
''Baseball Reference''. Ken Ramos is remembered as an outfielder that reached the majors briefly in 1997 with the Astros, even though he was more renowned for his lengthy and productive minor league career. Born in

Sidney, Nebraska Sidney is a city in and the county seat of Cheyenne County, Nebraska, United States. The city is north of the Colorado state line. The population was 6,757 at the 2010 census. History The city was named for Sidney Dillon, president of the Uni ...

, Ramos attended the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...

. He was originally selected by the Chicago Cubs in the sixth round of the 1986 MLB Draft out of

Otero Junior College Otero College is a public community college in La Junta, Colorado. History Otero College was established in 1941 and was named La Junta Junior College. Which was operated by the school district. In 1949, an election was held to consider propos ...

in La Junta, Colorado, but he opted not to sign. He then signed as a free agent with 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 ...

in 1989, and was traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in exchange for

Matt Merullo Matthew Bates Merullo (born August 4, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher who played for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, and Minnesota Twins between 1989 and 1995. Playing career Merullo attended the Unive ...

in the spring of 1994. Finally, a few days later, he was selected off waivers by Houston from the White Sox. Ramos appeared in 14 games for the Astros, primarily as a pinch hitter, and was hitless in 14 at-bats while compiling one

run 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 bat ...

and two walks. Nevertheless, his Minor League career spanned ten seasons, from 1989 until 1998, including six at Triple-A with stints in the farm systems of the Indians, Astros and Minnesota Twins.Minor League Baseball statistics
''Baseball Reference''. While with the

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

, Ramos earned a spot on the 1990

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

All-Star squad. His most productive season in the minors came in 1992, when he hit a

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

of .339/.342/.448 with Double-A Canton-Akron Indians and earned Lou Boudreau Award honors as Indians' Minor League Player of the Year. Ramos retired in 1998, at age 31, after dividing his playing time at Triple-A with the

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and

Salt Lake Buzz Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

. Overall, Ramos hit .300 (1036-for-3449) with 24

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 and 328 RBI in 1,039 minor league games, including 599 runs, 157 doubles, 49 triples and 120

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s. Besides, he posted averages of .300 or better in five seasons, with a career-best .345 in 1990. In total, he walked more than he

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

, amassing 503 walks against 311 strikeouts, to collect

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

s of .400 or more five times. In between, Ramos played winter ball with the

Águilas del Zulia The Águilas del Zulia ( en, Zulia Eagles) is a Venezuelan professional baseball team based in Maracaibo which plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. History The team was founded in 1969 and debuted in the 1969–70 season. The fra ...

and

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes (Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It wa ...

clubs of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

in part of two seasons spanning 1993–1995. On May 15, 2016, Ramos shot and killed his wife Lisa Ramos and then committed suicide at the couple's home in

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

. He left behind one daughter, Delaney.

Sources

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Ken 1967 births 2016 deaths Águilas del Zulia players American murderers Baseball players from Nebraska Canton-Akron Indians players Charlotte Knights players Gulf Coast Indians players Houston Astros players Kinston Indians players Major League Baseball outfielders Murder–suicides in Colorado Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball players New Orleans Zephyrs players People from Sidney, Nebraska Salt Lake Buzz players Suicides by firearm in Colorado Tucson Toros players 2016 suicides