CLEVELAND: The first time I saw magic from Jose Ramirez was on Aug. 9, 2014.
The then-Indians rookie was sharing the shortstop job with Mike Aviles after Asdrubal Cabrera was traded on July 31. Ramirez started the game in Yankee Stadium and his parents from the Dominican Republic and three other family members watched from the stands.
With Corey Kluber on the mound, the Indians won 3-0 as Ramirez smashed his first major league home run, a two-run shot to right field, and went 3-for-4 with a stolen base.
Ramirez was excited, but didn’t seem fazed by the enormity of the moment or, in this case, the venue.
From that day on, for some inexplicable reason, I believed Ramirez was more than a utility player. I saw him at second base next to shortstop Francisco Lindor last season, liked their chemistry and communication and believed the Tribe needed to find a regular infield spot for Ramirez.
But even then, I never dreamed that Ramirez would come this far, this fast. Even when the 23-year-old began to deliver timely hits with runners in scoring position this season, I wasn’t sure his pace was sustainable.
Even as I watched him continue the inexplicable, I told myself that baseball is a game of numbers and tendencies and analytics, not magic.
Ramirez has blurred those lines.
He came through again Sunday against the American League East-leading Toronto Blue Jays. Ramirez’s two-run homer with two out in the eighth inning gave the Indians a 3-2 victory at Progressive Field, enabling them to remain seven games ahead of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.
“Those high pressure moments are always enjoyable. It helps you learn how to focus better,” Ramirez said through a team interpreter.
Ramirez rounded the bases just behind Lindor, who leaped as he ran between second and third.
“As soon as he hit it I just went crazy,” Lindor said. “It’s unreal, the things he’s doing this year.”
The blast by Ramirez came two days after he tied the game against the Blue Jays with a solo homer in the ninth and rookie Tyler Naquin followed with an inside-the-park, walk-off home run.
The rock-star fist Naquin threw in the air after he scored looks like the signature moment of the Indians’ season, at least to this point. It made perfect sense that Ramirez had a hand in that.
“He just seems to have a knack in those situations,” closer Cody Allen said of Ramirez. “It doesn’t take him over. He is able to relax himself, stay in the moment, and just, you know, do something big.”
This Indians’ season is loaded with surprises, improbabilities and players who have exceeded expectations. Mike Napoli’s 29-homer tear, one shy of his career high in 2011, Carlos Santana’s success in the leadoff spot, the front office trading top prospects Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield to the Yankees for closer Andrew Miller.
But the performance of Ramirez tops all of that. He is the Indians’ MVP. He has made up for the loss of All-Star Michael Brantley, whose season ended after 11 games when he underwent another surgery on Aug. 15.
With runners in scoring position, Ramirez is hitting .381, third-highest in the majors among those with at least 100 plate appearances. Brantley never did that. His highest average in that category when he played a full season was .376 in 2014, when he finished third in the AL MVP voting.
Ramirez may be forcing the Indians to reconfigure their infield plans for the future. Heading into next year, there may be some tough discussions about Ramirez and third-baseman-in-waiting Giovanny Urshela, now at Triple-A Columbus, although sending Ramirez back to the outfield is an easy solution.
But all that can wait. Now is the time to soak up Ramirez’s heart-stopping hits in the clutch and to figuratively leap around the bases with Lindor.
The feats of Ramirez almost make baseball lifers believe in magic, as rookie right-hander Mike Clevinger found out Sunday. As he relived Ramirez’s ball sailing onto the Home Run Porch just inside the foul pole, Clevinger agreed that something otherworldly was happening.
“Yeah, for real,” Clevinger said.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.