Cleveland Guardians superstar Jose Ramirez grabbed everybody’s attention Thursday afternoon. The slugging infielder mashed a grand slam that had the MLB world raving.
Up 1-0 on the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland had the bases loaded in the second inning.
That set the stage for Ramirez to rare back and smoke one out of the park!
Ramirez’s shot came on a 3-2 pitch, so something had to give. Fortunately for the Guardians, the multi-time All-Star infielder won the battle at the plate and crushed the pitch into the seats. According to the Bally Sports Ohio broadcast, the home run went 384 feet and recorded an exit velocity of 107.8 miles per hour.
Ramirez has been off to a slow start this season, so a home run eased some early concerns that some Guardians fans might have had. Ramirez is hitting just .255/.267/.471 after that home run, his fifth of the 2024 MLB season. He hasn’t finished with an OPS+ under 100 since the 2015 season. But it’s a long season, so there’s still plenty of time for him to catch up and wake his bat up.
After this Grand Slam, Cleveland has a 5-2 lead over the Red Sox. Boston has added two runs since, but the Guardians have built up a mighty three-run lead that’s yet to be challenged.
The MLB world had much to say about Ramirez’s blast. For the most part, Guardians fans were plenty excited about it.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022