Tag Archives: Hanley Ramirez

Félix Hernández Among 14 New Candidates on the Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

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Félix Hernández is on the ballot.

The 38-year-old Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher, nicknamed “King Félix,” is among 14 new candidates on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released on Monday, joining 14 holdovers.

Félix HernándezHernández, the 2010 American League (AL) Cy Young winner and a six-time MLB All-Star, won the 2010 and 2014 AL ERA titles.

He was 169-136 with a 3.42 ERA and 2,524 strikeouts for Seattle from 2005-19. Hernández pitched the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 15, 2012.

Hernandez isn’t the only Latino to become a first-time candidate.

Outfielder Carlos González, reliever Fernando Rodney and infielder Hanley Ramírez also are among the Latino newcomers on the ballot.

González was a three-time MLB All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and the 2010 National League (NL) batting champion. He hit .285 with 234 homers, 785 RBIs and 122 stolen bases for Oakland (2008), Colorado (2009-18), Cleveland (2019) and the Chicago Cubs (2019).

Pedroia was a four-time MLB All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, helping Boston to World Series titles in 2007 and 2013. He batted .299 with 140 homers, 725 and 138 steals for the Red Sox from 2006-19, winning the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and 2008 AL MVP.

Ramírez was voted the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year and won the 2009 NL batting title, becoming a three-time MLB All-Star. He hit .289 with 271 homers, 917 RBIs and 281 stolen bases for Boston (2005, 2015-18), the Florida and Miami Marlins (2006-12), Los Angeles Dodgers (2012-14) and Cleveland (2019).

Other Latino holdovers include steroids-tainted stars Alex Rodriguez (134 votes, 34.8%) and Manny Ramirez (125, 32.5%) along with Carlos Beltran (220, 57.1%), Omar Vizquel (68, 17.7%), Bobby Abreu (57, 14.8%) and Francisco Rodríguez (30, 7.8%).

Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) members with 10 or more consecutive years of membership are eligible to vote. Ballots must be postmarked by December 31 and results will be announced January 23. Anyone elected will be inducted on July 27 along with anyone chosen December 8 by the hall’s classic baseball committee considering eight players and managers whose greatest contributions to the sport were before 1980.

Ramirez Logs First-Ever Three-Homer Game Against the San Francisco Giants

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Hanley Ramirez is celebrating his Giant(s) night…

The 32-year-old Dominican professional baseball player, a first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, hit three home runs for the first time in his career and drove in a career-high six runs on Wednesday night as he helped his team hold on for an 11-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Hanley Ramirez

Boston won for the eighth time in nine games and moved into first place in the American League East, a half-game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles.

Ramirez also reached base when he was hit by a pitch in the fourth, glowering at Giants reliever Albert Suarez before the umpire quickly warned both benches. With the crowd chanting Ramirez’s name for his final at-bat in the eighth, he grounded out weakly to the pitcher.

Ramirez began the day with eight home runs this season before connecting for his first three-homer game. He hit two-run drives in the second, third and sixth inning.

The major league record for home runs in a game is four. It’s been done 16 times, most recently by Josh Hamilton for the Texas Rangers in 2012.

Ramirez, a three-time MLB All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, also made a few good plays in the field. He dove to his right to stop a line drive in the first inning, and made a play to his right on a hard grounder from Grant Green. Then, with the bases loaded in the sixth, he gloved a sharp grounder, stepped on first and threw home.

Arruebarrena Agrees to Five-Year Deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers

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Erisbel Arruebarrena is being heralded as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ “shortstop of the future”…

The 23-year-old Cuban professional baseball star has signed a five-year-contract with the Dodgers.

Erisbel Arruebarrena

The deal will pay Arruebarrena $25 million, according to an ESPN source, which includes a reported $7.5 million signing bonus.

Arruebarrena remains in the Dominican Republic, trying to secure a visa to travel to Arizona to join the team’s spring training camp, and likely will begin the season in the minor leagues, but the Dodgers believe he’s full capable of being their shortstop of the future.

“We think he adds to our major-league club at some point this year, someone who can play shortstop at a high level,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said.

The Dodgers have begun discussions with shortstop Hanley Ramirez on a long-term contract extension, but Colletti said Ramirez is open to moving positions, likely to third base. Ramirez is a free agent at the end of the upcoming season.

The Dodgers hope Arruebarrena can improve his hitting with some time in the minor leagues. He batted .276 with 67 doubles, 27 home runs and 171 RBIs in 437 career games in the Cuban Serie Nacional. He was teammates with Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig.

“He brings another superb glove to our organization,” said the Dodgers’ top international scout, Bob Engle.

Marlins’ Fernández Named the National League Rookie of the Year

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José Fernández has capped off his remarkable first year in Major League Baseball with a massive honor…

The 21-year-old Cuban professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins has been named the National League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).

José Fernández

The phenom with an inspiring personal story and incredible talent received first-place votes on 26 of 30 ballots. He was second on four ballots, and he received a total of 142 points.

Fernández was a finalist along with Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and Cardinals right-hander Shelby Miller.

Puig finished second, and he collected four first-place votes. The Rays’ Wil Myers won the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

“When they said my name, and said I had 26 votes, it was pretty nice,” said Fernández. “I’m really excited. I think the fans down in Miami are really happy about it. My family here is really excited too.”

Fernández beat long odds to even gain his freedom from Cuba. He reached the United States after several failed attempts, and after settling in Tampa, Fla., in 2008, the hard-throwing right-hander doggedly pursued his baseball dream. The Marlins made him the 14th overall selection in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

Making the day even more memorable is Fernández was able to celebrate with his grandmother, Olga, whom he had not seen since he left Cuba five years ago.

Olga obtained a five-year visitation visa, and the Marlins set up a surprise visit for Fernandez to reunite with his grandmother on Sunday at Marlins Park.

When Fernández was informed he had won, he was flanked by his grandmother and mother, Maritza, during the announcement on MLB Network.

“I was kind of expecting to be the Rookie of the Year, or it to be close,” Fernández said. “Having my grandma here came out of nowhere. It’s completely out of nowhere. I’m trying to let it sink in, and I’m trying to spend time with her.”

Fernández is the fourth player in franchise history to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award, joining Dontrelle Willis (2003), Hanley Ramirez (2006) and Chris Coghlan (2009).

Fernández also joins Tony Oliva (1964) as the only Cuban-born Rookie of the Year.

Entering the season, MLB.com ranked Fernandez as the Marlins’ No. 1 prospect and the seventh overall prospect in the Majors.

In Fernandez’s 28 starts, the Marlins were 18-10. Fernandez paced all NL rookies in ERA (2.19), strikeouts (187), batting average against (.182) and WHIP (0.98). He also averaged 9.75 strikeouts per nine innings

As part of his remarkable 2013, Fernandez also threw an inning in the All-Star Game, and he didn’t disappoint. In a perfect sixth, Fernandez struck out Dustin Pedroia and Chris Davis while getting Miguel Cabrera on a soft pop fly to first.

The performance made Fernandez the third pitcher in the history of the All-Star Game to strike out two batters prior to turning 21 in his Midsummer Classic debut.

Nolasco Registers Win in His First Start with the Los Angeles Dodgers

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Ricky Nolasco has made a major impression in his first game on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 30-year-old Latino-American baseball right-hander pitched seven strong innings in his debut with the Dodgers to lead his brand new team to a 6-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ryan Nolasco

Nolasco, acquired by the Dodgers from the Miami Marlins this weekend in exchange for a trio of pitching prospects, allowed four hits, one earned run and struck out five Tuesday night at Chase Field in Phoenix.

He was credited with the win, improving his record this season to 6-8.

The Dodgers’ hitters, meanwhile, gave their new starter plenty of run support, with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez leading the way by driving in three runs to increase his RBI tally for the season to 57.

Nolasco also helped his own cause by singling in the game’s first run in the top of the second inning.

Rookie sensation Yasiel Puig had a hit and two walks, while shortstop Hanley Ramirez went 0-for-4 as his career-best 19-game hitting streak was snapped.

Diamondbacks third baseman Martin Prado singled in second baseman Aaron Hill in the bottom of the 7th inning for Arizona’s only run.

Relievers J.P. Howell and Ronald Belisario pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, for the Dodgers.

The win improved the Dodgers’ record for the season to 44-45, which leaves them just 2.5 games behind the NL West division-leading Diamondbacks with the second half of the season just starting.