I’ve been following the Yankees all season long, sitting on my couch with my notebook open. Started noticing something weird about John Ramos – dude was glued to the bench way too much. Like that week when Stanton got hurt, I kept screaming at the TV, “Put Ramos in already!” but nah, they kept running IKF out there instead.
So I got curious, right? Pulled up last year’s game logs from my laptop. Remembered how back in September, Ramos started six games at third base. Yankees won five of those. Coincidence? Maybe. But then I flipped through my scorecards from this year. Every time Ramos got into a game, something small but good happened – a slick double play turn, drawing a walk in a tight spot. Kid just has that vibe.
Went down a rabbit hole with spray charts last Tuesday night. Stayed up past midnight comparing Ramos and Donaldson. Saw Ramos hits way more line drives up the middle while Donaldson’s popping everything to shallow left. Made me realize – we ain’t grooming Ramos to replace Donaldson’s pop. We need him to be the contact hitter we don’t got. But how’s he gonna learn to hit big-league sliders sitting on pine?
Then it hit me like a fastball to the ribs – what if Boone’s actually screwing up next season right now? Yankees got all these old contracts ending after 2024. If Ramos don’t get 300 at-bats this year, we’re gonna roll into next spring with some rookie who’s never seen a playoff race. That’s how you end up like the 2021 Mets with Baez swinging at dirt.
Took my notes to my buddy Vinny’s sports bar last Saturday. Argued with this meathead who kept yelling “Ramos ain’t ready!” I shoved my notebook at him showing Ramos’ minor league stats – hit .350 against lefties last year in Triple-A. Meathead shut up real quick after that.
Final piece clicked watching last night’s game. Bases loaded, eighth inning, Boone sends up some .180 hitter to pinch hit instead of Ramos. Guy struck out on three pitches. My wife caught me facepalming so hard she thought I hurt myself. That’s when I knew – this ain’t about 2023 stats. It’s about letting Ramos take his lumps NOW so he’s ready for October NEXT year.
Folks keep asking why a part-time player matters. Simple – you don’t learn baseball from YouTube videos. You learn it by failing against big-league pitchers in July games that don’t matter. If Cashman’s smart, he tells Boone to play Ramos like his job depends on it… because honestly, it probably does.