Alex Ramírez

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Venezuelan baseball player (born 1974)

title: "Alex Ramírez" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1974-births", "living-people", "águilas-del-zulia-players", "bakersfield-blaze-players", "buffalo-bisons-(minor-league)-players", "burlington-indians-players-(1986–2006)", "canton-akron-indians-players", "cardenales-de-lara-players", "caribes-de-oriente-players", "cleveland-indians-players", "columbus-redstixx-players", "japanese-baseball-hall-of-fame-inductees", "japanese-christians", "venezuelan-emigrants-to-japan", "kinston-indians-players", "major-league-baseball-outfielders", "major-league-baseball-players-from-venezuela", "20th-century-venezuelan-sportsmen", "managers-of-baseball-teams-in-japan", "nippon-professional-baseball-left-fielders", "nippon-professional-baseball-mvp-award-winners", "naturalized-citizens-of-japan", "baseball-players-from-caracas", "pittsburgh-pirates-players", "baseball-players-from-winter-haven,-florida", "tokyo-yakult-swallows-players", "venezuelan-christians", "venezuelan-expatriate-baseball-players-in-japan", "venezuelan-expatriate-baseball-players-in-the-united-states", "yakult-swallows-players", "yokohama-dena-baystars-players", "yokohama-dena-baystars-managers", "yomiuri-giants-players", "major-league-baseball-replacement-players"] description: "Venezuelan baseball player (born 1974)" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Ramírez" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Venezuelan baseball player (born 1974) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox baseball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Alex Ramírez
image	20130406 Alexander Ramon Ramirez, outfielder of the of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars,at Meiji Jingu Stadium.JPG
image_size	250px
caption	Ramirez celebrating his 2000 career hits in 2013
number	80
position	Outfielder / Manager
birth_date
birth_place	Caracas, Venezuela
bats	Right
throws	Right
debutleague	MLB
debutdate	19 September
debutyear	1998
debutteam	Cleveland Indians
debut2league	NPB
debut2date	30 March
debut2year	2001
debut2team	Yakult Swallows
finalleague	MLB
finaldate	27 September
finalyear	2000
finalteam	Pittsburgh Pirates
final2league	NPB
final2date	8 October
final2year	2013
final2team	Yokohama DeNA BayStars
statleague	MLB
stat1label	Batting average
stat1value	.259
stat2label	Hits
stat2value	86
stat3label	Home runs
stat3value	12
stat4label	Runs batted in
stat4value	48
stat2league	NPB
stat21label	Batting average
stat21value	.301
stat22label	Hits
stat22value	2,017
stat23label	Home runs
stat23value	380
stat24label	Runs batted in
stat24value	1,272
stat25label	Games managed
stat25value	692
stat26label	Managerial record
stat26value	336–336
stat27label	Winning %
stat27value
hoflink	Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
hoftype	Japanese
hofdate	2023
::

Cleveland Indians (–)
Pittsburgh Pirates ()
Yakult Swallows/Tokyo Yakult Swallows (–)
Yomiuri Giants (–)
Yokohama DeNA BayStars (–) As manager:
Yokohama DeNA BayStars (–) |awards= NPB
2× Central League MVP (-)
8× NPB All-Star (2002–2003, 2007–2012)
2× Japan Series champion (2001, 2009)
2008 CLCS MVP
4× Best Nine Award (2003, 2007–2009)
Central League batting champion ()
3× Central League RBI Leader (, , )
Central League home run leader () | hoflink = Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame | hoftype = Japanese | hofdate = 2023 | hofvote = | hofmethod = Alexander Ramón Ramírez Quiñónez (born 3 October 1974), nicknamed Ramichan, is a Venezuelan-born former professional baseball outfielder who had a long career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He is the only foreign player to record 2,000 hits in NPB. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023, and the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.

Before playing in Japan, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (1998–2000) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2000).

He managed the Yokohama BayStars from 2016 to 2020.

Professional baseball career

Major League Baseball

Ramírez signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in July 1991. In 1995, he was a replacement player during the ongoing strike for Cleveland, playing in one spring training game. He was named the team's 1998 Minor League Player of the Year, getting the Lou Boudreau Award.

Ramírez made his MLB debut with Cleveland in 1998. On 28 July 2000, the Indians traded Ramírez and Enrique Wilson to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Wil Cordero. Across three MLB seasons, Ramírez batted .259 with 12 home runs, 48 runs batted in (RBI), 38 runs scored, 17 doubles, three triples, and three stolen bases in 135 games.

Nippon Professional Baseball

After the 2000 season, Ramírez signed with the Yakult Swallows (2001–2007) and was their cleanup hitter. During his final season with the Swallows he set the Central League record for most base hits in a single season with 204. (This record did not stand long, as Hanshin Tigers outfielder Matt Murton surpassed Ramírez's tally en route to finishing the 2010 season with 214 hits.)

The 2007 season was Ramírez's last with the Swallows, who did offer him the multi-year contract he sought. Instead, the outfielder signed with the Yomiuri Giants for the 2008 season. Ramírez quickly flourished with his new team. In 2008, he led the Central League with 125 RBI while hitting .319 (sixth in the league) with 45 home runs (second). He also hit two home runs in Game 2 of the Japan Series, including one in the bottom of the ninth to win Game 2. At the end of the 2008 season, Ramírez won the Central League MVP Award. He was the third Venezuelan player to be so honored in Japanese baseball, joining Roberto Petagine (Central League, 2001) and Alex Cabrera (Pacific League, 2002).

After playing eight seasons in NPB, Ramirez obtained FA Right in 2008 and was no longer counted as a foreign player for roster purposes. , only four foreign players in NPB history had accrued enough service time to achieve the classification.

On 6 April 2013, Ramirez hit a home run to record his 2,000 career hit in the NPB, becoming the 42nd player and the first foreign player to accomplish the feat. This accomplishment also earned Ramírez an invitation to the Meikyukai, a private club recognizing Japan's elite players. He was the first Western player to be so honored.

Baseball Challenge League

Ramírez spent the 2014 season as a player-coach with the Gunma Diamond Pegasus of Japan's Baseball Challenge League. In 45 games, he hit .305 with 7 home runs and 38 RBI. He retired after the 2014 season and became the Diamond Pegasus' senior director.

Coaching

In the middle of the 2015, Ramírez joined the Orix Buffaloes as an advisor, mentoring younger players. In October 2015 he was named as the BayStars manager for the 2016 season, replacing Kiyoshi Nakahata who resigned at the end of the 2015 season due to the team's poor performance. In his first season managing, the team finished 69-71-3, finishing third in the Central League, and advancing to the Climax Series, where the BayStars defeated the Yomiuri Giants, 2-1 in the first round before falling to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, 4-1, in the league championship round. In his second year as manager, the BayStars reached the 2017 Japan Series, but lost to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, 4 games to 2. Ramírez coached the team through the 2020 season.

Ramírez founded and coached Japan Breeze, which competed in the 2025 Caribbean Series. The team went 0–4 and was no-hit in a mercy rule loss in the tournament.

Career statistics

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/20120318_Alexander_Ramon_Ramirez,_outfielder_of_the_of_the_Yokohama_DeNA_BayStars,at_Yokohama_Stadium.JPG" caption="Ramirez in 2012."] ::

::data[format=table]

Nippon Professional Baseball	Year	Age	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	TB	RBI	SB
	27	Yakult	138	510	60	143	23	0	29	253	88	1	.280
	28	Yakult	139	539	65	159	25	0	24	256	92	0	.295
	29	Yakult	140	567	105	189	34	3	40	349	124	4	.333
	30	Yakult	129	525	79	160	30	2	31	287	110	2	.305
	31	Yakult	146	596	70	168	19	1	32	285	104	5	.282
	32	Yakult	146	603	79	161	28	2	26	271	112	0	.267
	33	Yakult	144	594	80	204	41	3	29	338	122	0	.343
	34	Yomiuri	144	548	84	175	28	0	45	338	125	1	.319
	35	Yomiuri	144	577	66	186	35	0	31	314	103	4	.322
	36	Yomiuri	144	566	93	172	28	0	49	347	129	1	.304
	37	Yomiuri	137	477	39	133	12	1	23	216	73	2	.279
	38	DeNA	137	476	40	143	25	0	19	225	76	0	.300
	39	DeNA	56	130	6	24	0	0	2	30	14	0	.185
		Total	1,744	6,708	866	2,017	330	12	380	3,709	1,272	20
::

Statistics current as of 21 November 2014 ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Alexander_Ramon_Ramirez,_outfielder_of_the_Yokohama_BayStars,_at_Queen's_Square_Yokohama.JPG" caption="Ramirez in 2012."] ::

Business career

In February 2013, Ramirez, his wife, and his son opened a restaurant in Tokyo called Ramichan Cafe, serving the cuisine of Puerto Rico, where his wife grew up. The restaurant has since closed.

Ramirez has spoken about his faith, saying, "I believe [continuing to play baseball] is my desire, but it's not my life. God has already blessed me with this career, and whatever God has planned for me, I will be happy to follow that, whether or not I play baseball again. It's not what I want; it's what God wants for me."

In January 2019, Ramirez became a Japanese citizen.

References

(August 18, 2025). "Félix Hernández, Alex Ramírez y Magglio Ordóñez electos al Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Venezolano".
"Alex Ramirez Intl, MLB, Minor League Baseball Statistics".
Hoynes, Paul. (1995-03-30). "Tigers drop Diaz but adds power hitter and pitcher". Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Zolecki, Todd. (2006-08-13). "On baseball: There aren't many strikes against 1995 scabs". [[The Philadelphia Inquirer]].
"Minor League Player of the Year by Team". The Baseball Cube.
(28 November 2007). "Cabrera, Laffey Receive '07 Honors". Scout.com.
Meyer, Paul. (29 July 2000). "Pirates ship Cordero to Indians for Alex Ramirez, Wilson". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(22 November 2008). "Alexander Ramírez elegido el Jugador Más Valioso". El Nacional.
Coskrey, Jason. (9 April 2013). "Ramirez possibly top foreign-born player ever in NPB". The Japan Times.
Lefton, Brad. (7 July 2012). "Where No Westerner in Japan Has Gone". The New York Times.
Hongo, Jun. [https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/10/15/longtime-baseball-star-alex-ramirez-retires-from-the-diamond/ "Longtime Baseball Star Alex Ramirez Retires From the Diamond,"] ''Wall Street Journal'' blog (15 October 2014).
Gen. [http://yakyubaka.com/2014/10/29/10292014-alex-ramirez-named-gunma-diamond-pegasus-senior-director/ "Alex Ramirez named Gunma Diamond Pegasus Senior Director,"] {{Webarchive. link. (7 November 2017 Yakyubaka.com (29 October 2014).)
(28 June 2015). "Ramirez happy to be back in NPB".
(19 October 2015). "BayStars name Ramirez as new manager".
Allen, Jim. (2020-10-23). "Ramirez on way out".
Karasawa, Yuri. (2025-02-10). "A Japanese Team in the Caribbean Series?".
(February 5, 2025). "Venezuela's Cardenales de Lara No-Hit Japan Breeze In 10-0 Mercy Rule Win.". World Baseball.
"Álex Ramírez inauguró restaurante en Japón".
(9 May 2014). "Life's Crossroads".
"横浜DeNAベイスターズ on Twitter: 昨日から日本人です！".

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