Hanley Ramirez

Lore & Background

Ramírez was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an international free agent in July 2000 at age 16. After the 2005 season, he was traded to the Florida Marlins. He played for the Marlins from 2006 through 2012. He won the NL batting title in 2009 with a .342 average and was second in NL MVP voting that year. He also won the Silver Slugger Award in 2009. Despite being a poor defensive shortstop, he later moved to left field and then first base.

In Their Own Story

The sun is dropping behind the Miami skyline, painting the outfield wall in bands of tangerine and deep blue. The stands at the waterfront ballpark are still buzzing from a seventh-inning rally, and the shortstop—number on his back, glove still dusted with infield dirt—jogs back to the bag with the easy confidence of a man who has made the same play a hundred times. A fan in the third row holds up a hand-drawn sign: '24 AND COUNTING.' He doesn't look up. He doesn't need to. He knows. The next pitch comes, a fastball on the outside corner, and he swings with the kind of compact, violent torque that shortstops aren't supposed to have. The ball clears the warning track before the crowd even starts to rise. He drops the bat, points to the shortstop's bag, and the whole ballpark erupts. This is the Marlins. This is the era. This is Hanley.

Reader's Guide

Ramírez established himself as an elite hitter with a career batting average of .289 and isolated power of .197. He was a three-time All-Star (2008, 2009, 2010). He led all MLB rookies in 2006 with 185 hits, 119 runs, 11 triples, and 51 stolen bases. He hit 33 home runs and stole 35 bases in 2008, becoming a member of the 30–30 club. His hitting declined from 2017 onward.

Did You Know?

• His first name is a misspelling of Hamlet, proposed by his grandmother, a devoted reader of Shakespeare.
• He was the first NL rookie to post at least 110 runs and at least 50 stolen bases.
• He hit seven leadoff home runs in 2006, the most in Marlins history for a season.
• He joined the 20–50 club in 2007, falling one home run shy of a 30–50 season.