Guardians' Jose Ramirez Facing One Of The Worst Slumps Of Career, Hasn't Done This In Three Years
Jose Ramirez is one of the greatest baseball players of our generation. What he's been consistently able to do over the last decade is nothing short of incredible and should land him a space in Cooperstown when his career comes to an end.
But with that being said, even the league's best players struggle from time to time. Unfortunately, one of the toughest stretches Ramirez has ever seen at the pate has come when the Cleveland Guardians needed him the most.
Jose finished the month of August with a slash line of .207/.305/.370 wrapping up his least effective month of the season. Not only was his production down, but Ramirez did something at the plate he hadn't done in three years.
The last time the third baseman finished a month with a batting average that low was back in August of the shortened 2020 season when he hit .202. Prior to this, the lowest average he'd had in a month during a full season was in September/October of 2018 when he finished with a .174.
This clearly isn't something that happens to Jose often and he's now trying to hit himself out of one of the worst slumps he's ever endured.
The problem is that this team follows Ramirez's lead. When he hits well, the rest of the team follows. When Jose is searching for his swing at the plate, typically the rest of the lineup is too.
Last month was a perfect example of this.
August was a rough month for the Guardians. The team had a combined batting average of just .228 and their 101 runs were second-fewest in the American League only outscoring the Oakland Athletics.
Jul 26, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Jose Ramirez (11) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
There may be a reason for Ramirez's sudden drop in production. His bat was quickly exposed in Cleveland's lineup after Josh Naylor went down with an oblique injury and missed the entire month.
Jose was clearly trying to do too much without arguably the team's best hitter in the lineup. This can be seen in his strikeout rate of 13 percent, which even for Ramirez is high.
There is good news and hope for a turnaround soon.
Naylor made his return to the lineup on Sunday afternoon and was batting third, right behind Jose. This may not fix all of Ramirez's problems, but he should start to see more pitches he can hit rather than trying to force something that's not there.
