CHICAGO — Even in the worst run of his career, he can turn into a true superstar at any time.
José Ramírez is arguably one of the five best players in Major League Baseball. He had his breakout year in 2016, but the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t have picked a better time for their best candle to heat up. With their season on the line in Game 4 of the ALDS and a chance to sweep the series in Cleveland for a winner-take-all Game 5, the Rangers have found their superman mantle.
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“He’s going to be a Hall of Famer,” shortstop Chase DeLauter said after Chicago’s 9-5 victory over Cleveland on Thursday. “It’s special.”
Through the first two games of the ALDS, Ramírez didn’t look like the Cleveland player he was, going 0-for-6 with three strikeouts. His early-season struggles seem to have taken off since the last month of the regular season, which saw him post a paltry .198/.237/.264 slashline along with a home run.
But Game 3 on Wednesday seemed to unlock something for the Guardians ‘superstar’. In that one, Ramírez went 2-for-4 with a double, triple and stolen base. He took the game with bats, glove and legs. Then Ramírez had even more in store for Game 4.
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As in Game 3, the Chicago White Sox took the momentum early on Thursday, taking a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning and running Rangers starter Parker Messick out of the game after just 2 1/3 innings. But once catcher Patrick Bailey took the lead with a solo shot, it was time for Ramírez to seal the game.
“She’s contagious on the team, the way she plays, her energy, her quality at-back,” second baseman Travis Bazzano said postgame. “That’s right, we saw him [in Game 3] manufacture to run by himself. He got up, stole some bases and later scored. So he can make an impact so quickly, but he plays with such concentration.
Prior to Ramírez’s fifth inning at-bat, it felt like a big hit was coming. He flew out in the first at-bat before pitching into the second line. But he found a barrel in both, with exit velocities of 98.9 mph and 97.5 mph respectively.
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Ramírez’s sure third ball that he put in the play could not be caught. The Guards third baseman hit a two-run double to put Cleveland ahead 3-2 and inject some much-needed confidence into the dugout.
While he typically doesn’t show much emotion, Ramírez was sure to fire up his dugout before swinging the bases.
“It’s a special moment when you have that kind of energy from the guys,” he said postgame. “I had several conversations with Messico before that. I told him: “I turned to you, and I could do this. It was really special.”
Said manager Stephen Vogt: “José Ramírez was José Ramírez in the playoffs. Bring in the fastball, Hicks with a big fastball, and Josy got to it. Get up, say there he goes again. And it’s a big moment for him, a big moment for us, and he didn’t show much movement, but he was exciting tonight.”
Although Cleveland’s lead didn’t hold for long, when Chicago went up by two in the bottom of the fifth, Ramírez fueled the Rangers offense for the second day in a row. That three-out burst in the fifth inning was just a mouthful. Entreé had a monster, six-run sixth inning that made it 9-4 and broke the game open.
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As part of that sixth run, Ramírez added an RBI single, giving him a multi-scoring game. While he was 0-for-6 in the first two games of the ALDS, the Cleveland superstar is 4-for-9 in the second pair of games, with a double, triple, home run, walk, stolen base, four runs scored and five RBI.
“It just starts with him. Whether it’s hot or cold, like having him on the line, he’s a presence,” DeLauter said. “When the fire goes out, it has power, it has a cold, like a big turn off – it will gather us together.”
The numbers will tell you that Ramírez hasn’t had much of a career in 2026 — he had surgery on his left hand in June after a bone spur — but you wouldn’t know it with his confidence. The seven-time All-Star isn’t tall in stature, but he walks around like a giant. But that faith can be felt by everyone around him.
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For the Rangers, coming off a 2-0 series deficit while on the road in Chicago and back in Cleveland to have a chance to reach the ALCS, they needed the best version of Ramírez to show up. Not even a moment to spare, it appears that he discovered his chosen form.
Cleveland now has a chance to become the first team since the 2017 Yankees to win three straight games in a best-of-five series after losing the first two. Heading home with a superstar who’s gotten hot, a rolling offense and a White Sox team that’s on the ropes, the guards seem to have all the momentum.
“It’s going to be crazy,” Ramírez said about what he expects for Game 5. “It’s going to be an incredible energy. For us, it’s going to be the same mindset: Try to win the game and enjoy the environment that’s going to be in Progressive. [Field].