Aramis Ramirez
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Aramis Ramírez (born June 25, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a third baseman in Major League Baseball who plays for the Chicago Cubs since 2003. Previously, Ramírez played with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1998-2003).
Ramírez was signed as a 16 year old free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1994. He made his major league debut Pirates in 1998 at the ripe age of 20. Ramírez struggled in his first three seasons while showing great potential.
In 2001, Ramírez exploded for 34 home runs and 112 RBI to go along with a .300 average. Injuries and a terrible batting slump in 2002 to go along with Pittsburgh's need to trim payroll made him expendable, and in the 2003 midseason, the Pirates traded Ramírez along with outfielder Kenny Lofton to the Chicago Cubs. Aramis is the brother of Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher, Elizardo Ramirez
Ramírez finished the 2003 season strong in Chicago, and led his team into the playoffs, where the Cubs defeated the favored Atlanta Braves, before being beaten by the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins in a tightly contested seven-game NLCS.
Ramírez played extremely well during the 2004 season, and despite nursing a sore hamstring, led the Cubs in hitting and RBI for most of the season. Long derided for poor defense, his play at third base has been well above average. Cubs manager Dusty Baker considered Ramírez one of the key ingredients in the Cubs' failed drive for the playoffs. That was strong praise on a team that includes stars the likes of Nomar Garciaparra, Corey Patterson, Derrek Lee, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux, and Carlos Zambrano.
On September 16, 2004, Ramirez became the 14th player in Major League history to have two games with three home runs in a season when he hit three homers against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. His other three-home run game came against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 30 at Wrigley Field.
In 2005, he was named to his first all-star game, where he started after NL 3rd basemen vote winner Scott Rolen pulled out of the game due to injury concerns. Ramirez finished the 2005 season on the disabled list, yet, still completed the season with thirty-one home runs and 92 RBIs.
As a spoof of/reference to Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, many Cubs fans refer to Ramirez as "A-Ram."
See also
External link
Aramis Ramírez' career statistics at [Baseball-Reference.com]|- style="text-align: center;"
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