This statistic shows just how important José Ramírez is to the Guardians' success

Last season, only seven players reached the 30-homer, 30-steal mark: José Ramírez, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Corbin Carroll and Jazz Chisholm Jr.

For the Guardians, seeing Ramírez in such elite company is exciting. It's a testament to just how good he is and what a massive impact he has on the game of baseball. However, when you take a step back and look at the other players on the list, they're all competing for World Series titles each season and are surrounded by other greats in the sport.

Cleveland's lineup heading into 2026 will still be anchored by just Ramírez, with left field-Golden Glover Steven Kwan making his impact known from time to time.

But the way that the 33-year-old Ramírez was able to drive this team back from down 15.5 games to win the AL Central last year makes it even more apparent that without him, the Guardians would be dead in the mud.

At times, power hitters can only give home run balls, and speed-first players lack that little bit of pop off the bat to make them truly impactful, but he provides both at an elite level, easing the stress off a Guardians roster that sports a lot of youth.

With 2026 nearly solely focused on development and hoping that the organization's top prospects break out, the owners can at least sleep soundly knowing that they have one of the best players in baseball on the roster.

Every single 30-30 player last season:

José Ramírez
Francisco Lindor
Juan Soto
Julio Rodríguez
Pete Crow-Armstrong
Corbin Carroll
Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Every single player with at least 60 home runs and 60 stolen bases over the last two seasons:

José Ramírez
Shohei Ohtani…
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) January 19, 2026

Just how good really was he in 2025?

When the scope listed above expands past the 30-home run, 30-steal mark, the number of players on it narrows quickly.

Over the past two seasons, just three players have totaled at least 60 home runs and 60 stolen bases: Ramírez, Shohei Ohtani and Lindor. That same trio is the only players to reach 90 homers and 90 steals over the last three seasons.

From there, everyone else on the list falls off and it's just the player born in Bani, Dominican Republic.

Ramírez is the only player with at least 120 home runs and 120 stolen bases over the course of the past four seasons; that's simply incredible. He's also the only one to reach 150 of each over the last five seasons.

The craziest part is that a player of this magnitude decided to forgo getting paid absolute bank from any other team in the league a few years ago and instead signed a team-friendly seven-year, $141 million deal with the Guardians. When he signed it, the expectation was that the extra money he allowed the front office to save would then allow them to go out and build around him.

Unfortunately, that hasn't happen and it doesn't look like its in the team's plans to make a major bang.

That means that unless the team's current prospects can somehow hit their prime and become regular contributors in the next two-to-three seasons, Ramírez and everything he's done for the club could fall into the shadows. If they aren't able to make a push for a World Series appearance, for Ramírez, he may say, "What was it all for?"

He's routinely come out and said his ultimate goal is to bring a championship back to the city of Cleveland. He's done everything in his power to make it happen with both reliable play on the field and a contract that isn't hindering the front office's capabilities in the market.

Now, it's just on the team itself to see if they can repay Ramírez for what he's given to the team he decided to join way back in 2011.