Aramis Ramirez retires after stellar 18-year career
As expected, Aramis Ramirez has played his last game in MLB.
After hinting all season that 2015 would be his final year in the majors, Ramirez announced his retirement on a talk show in his native Dominican Republic, but left the door open to suit up for his hometown Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Winter League.
Over 18 major-league seasons, Ramirez, 37, hit 283/.341/.492 with 386 home runs. He made his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1998 and played there for parts of six years before being traded to the Chicago Cubs. Ramirez flourished in Chicago as the Cubs’ everyday third baseman for eight seasons, making it to two All-Star games. With the Cubs entering a rebuild after the 2011 season, Ramirez signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent and spent three-and-a-half years in Milwaukee, where he was an All-Star in 2014. The Brewers sent him to Pittsburgh in a deal prior to the trade deadline in July, giving him the opportunity to make one last run at the postseason and bring his career full-circle.
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And what a career it was. Even while playing for Cubs teams that reached the playoffs he never got much attention nationally. Ramirez wasn’t an overly flashy player, but with his consistency over such a long period of time, he certainly earned his place among the best power hitting third baseman of all time. Just look at these stats:
Ramirez also said he’d like to remain in baseball in some capacity. Given his accomplishments and his cool demeanor, he would be a great get for an organization as a coach or an instructor.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
