Start and Finish

Today Aramis Ramirez announced his official retirement from MLB. While never a superstar, he was super productive after the Pirates traded him to the Cubs for some rubber bands and a wiffle ball bat. I've touched on that trade a lot, but it is best summed up as God awful. He would go on to make 3 All Star games and have a fantastic 10 year peak. While not quite Hall of Fame level he ranks in the top 20 in most of the major counting stats all time for third baseman.

I liked the trade when the Pirates managed to get Ramirez before the serious trade rumors had started. Both Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer suffered major injuries and the Pirates had little in the way of internal options. Ramirez was well past his prime, but still had some pop and could handle the hot corner adequately until Harrison and Mercer got healthy.

The thing that I found super confusing was batting Ramirez cleanup. For a team like the Pirates who are considered very Saber inclined this seemed like an odd decision. At this point in his career Ramirez was probably the 6th or 7th best hitter in the lineup.

With that being said it was kind of cool for him to get one more chance at a championship. While it didn't work out because of Jake Arrieta, he still played a part in helping the Pirates stay afloat while the injury bug hit. I read that he wants to stay in baseball in some capacity that doesn't involve management. He specifically referenced Moises Alou's job in which he helps in player development. Maybe the Pirates will hire him.

Just as a side note he made almost 150 million in his career. If you hit homeruns in the mid 2000's you got paid.

Ramirez is represented well card wise in the Bucco uniform. He was a big prospect that debuted in the late 90's at the infancy of the auto/relic boom so plenty exist.  Here is a small sampling of some cards I own.

Thanks for reading!