Aramis Ramírez

[Michael Trzinski]

Aramis Ramírez was born in 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In late 1994, when he was just 16, Ramírez signed a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his third year in pro ball, Ramírez made his big-league debut. After being called up in May 1998, he went 0-for-24 before getting his first major league hit. Ramírez, at age 19, was the youngest player in the MLB at that time. He split time between Triple-A and the majors for three years and then made it to the big time for good in 2001.

Despite hitting 34 homers, driving in 112 runs, and batting .300 in 2001, Ramírez did not make the NL All-Star team. He struggled in 2002 and after a good half-season the next year, was traded to the Chicago Cubs in July 2003.

Ramírez had eight-plus solid seasons with the Cubs, making the NL All-Star team twice and earning a Silver Slugger award in his final season (2011) with the Cubs. During his time with Chicago, he hit 239 home runs and slashed .294/.356/.531 across 1,124 games and 4,232 at-bats. Ramírez signed with the Brewers as a free agent after the 2011 season.

The right-handed batting third sacker played in Milwaukee for three and one-half years and performed well, leading the NL in doubles in 2012 with 50 two-base hits. In 2013, Ramírez missed nearly half the season with knee problems. He recovered enough in 2014 that he made the NL All-Star team.

At the advanced age of 37, Ramírez had a ho-hum season going in Milwaukee in 2015, slashing .247/.295/.430 in 81 games before being traded back to the Pirates. After finishing the year in Pittsburgh, he announced his retirement in November.

Ramírez concluded his 18-year MLB career with 386 home runs and a slash line of .283/.341/.492. In 2024, he and Kerry Wood were inducted into the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.

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[MattK]

Those guys who make the majors young always have surprisingly long & effective careers.