Mario Martin Ramos (born October 19, 1977) is a former
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), ...
pitcher.
Ramos was born in
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...
. He went to
Pflugerville High School
Pflugerville High School is a public high school located in Pflugerville, Texas.
In 2017, the school was a Top-10 Finalist in Reader's Digest ''Nicest Places in America'' contest.
Athletics
List of sports
* Baseball
* Basketball, Boys
* Baske ...
in
Pflugerville, Texas
Pflugerville ( ) is a city in Travis County, Texas, United States, with a small portion in Williamson County. The population was 65,191 at the 2020 census. Pflugerville is a suburb of Austin and part of the Austin–Round Rock–San Mar ...
, where he also resides today. He was a 5'11", 180-pound pitcher. Before being drafted, Ramos attended
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
.
In 1996, the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
drafted him in the 48th round (1399th overall). He decided not to sign and continued to pitch for Rice. In
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
, he was drafted by the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
in the 6th round (183rd)—this time he signed.
From 2000–2001, Ramos had a 30-9 record in the minors. On January 14, 2002, he was traded to the Texas Rangers along with
Jason Hart,
Gerald Laird
Gerald Lee Laird III (born November 13, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ca ...
and
Ryan Ludwick
Ryan Andrew Ludwick (born July 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, and ...
for
Carlos Peña
Carlos Felipe Peña (born May 17, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, C ...
and
Mike Venafro
Michael Robert Venafro (born August 2, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher. He played professionally for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dod ...
.
From 2002–2003, his winning percentage dropped to .379 (11-18 record). That trade, it seems, had a very bad effect on his career. Even though he had a mediocre (at best) season in the minors in 2003, he was still called up to the Rangers. On June 19, he made his major league debut.
At the end of 2003, he was selected off waivers from the Rangers by the team who drafted him, the Oakland Athletics. Even though he was rumored to be part of a deal being concocted between 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 ...
and Athletics for
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...
, he was not traded, and he remained in the Athletics' farm system.
From 2004 through 2005, he played in the Athletics farm system. In 2006, he was with the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
in their system. He was back in the Athletics system in 2007.
Ramos was a teammate of
Marc Gwyn,
Jason Hart and
Ryan Ludwick
Ryan Andrew Ludwick (born July 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, and ...
for four years — longer than any other teammates. His cousin, Dominic Ramos, also plays professional baseball. Since 2019-2020, Ramos is a 6th grade principal of Cele Middle School.
Honors and awards
*In 1999, he was a Second Team College
All-American and a
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...
All-Star.
*In 2000, he was a
California League
The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...
All-Star and a High A All-Star.
*In 2001, he was a
Baseball America
''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...
Second Team Minor League All-Star and the Oakland Athletics Minor League Player of the Year.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Mario
1977 births
Living people
All-American college baseball players
Baseball players from Illinois
Major League Baseball pitchers
Rice Owls baseball players
People from Pflugerville, Texas
Sportspeople from Aurora, Illinois
Texas Rangers players
Arizona League Padres players
Frisco RoughRiders players
Midland RockHounds players
Mobile BayBears players
Modesto A's players
Oklahoma RedHawks players
Portland Beavers players
Sacramento River Cats players