Cleveland Guardians' José Ramírez Inflicted Historic Amount of Damage With 2 Strikes in 2024

A rainout may have cost José Ramírez his shot at a 40-40 season, but the Cleveland Guardians superstar still made plenty of history in 2024.

Ramírez entered Sunday needing just one homer to become the seventh member of MLB's exclusive 40-40 club. Instead, game No. 162 against the Houston Astros was canceled, and the third baseman merely finished the year batting .279 with 39 home runs, 39 doubles, 41 stolen bases, 118 RBI, an .872 OPS and a 6.8 WAR.

As a result, Ramírez joins Alfonso Soriano as the only players ever to record at least 39 home runs, 39 doubles and 39 stolen bases in a single season. Soriano did so with the New York Yankees in 2002, then again with the Washington Nationals in 2006.

Ramírez, having already made his sixth career All-Star appearance earlier this summer, is a shoe-in to win his fifth career Silver Slugger award. Going against all conventions, Ramírez did most of his damage on two-strike counts this year, racking up 22 home runs, 20 doubles, one triple and 49 singles in those scenarios.

Per OptaSTATS, Ramírez's 180 total bases with two strikes are the most in a single season since pitches were first tracked in 1988. The player with the next most is Alex Rodriguez, who had 162 in 1996.

Jose Ramirez of the @CleGuardians had a total of 180 total bases with two strikes this season.

Since pitches were first tracked in 1988, the next-most total bases any player had with two strikes in a season was 162 by Alex Rodriguez in 1996. pic.twitter.com/QrjDfGp4AM
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 30, 2024

Ramírez's clutch hitting powered the Guardians to yet another AL Central title in 2024, carrying them to the postseason for the seventh time since he made his MLB debut in 2013. Before Ramírez arrived on the scene, Cleveland had made the playoffs just once in the previous 11 seasons.

In his first season as an everyday player, Ramírez helped the then-Indians win the American League pennant. He has missed more than 10 games in a single season just once in the ensuing nine years.

Ramírez is a .279 hitter with an .856 OPS for his career, neither of which stand out all too much on their own. His 52.4 career WAR already ranks sixth in franchise history, though, and he is under contract for another four years.

There have been 17 players in MLB history to record at least 1,500 hits, 250 home runs, 350 doubles, 40 triples, 240 stolen bases and 850 RBI in their careers, and Ramírez is one of them. He is the only active player on the list.

Ramírez and the Guardians earned a bye through the AL Wild Card Series and will face either the Detroit Tigers or Houston Astros in the ALDS starting Saturday. Despite his historic production in the regular season over the past decade, Ramírez is only a .242 hitter with a .638 OPS in his playoff career.

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