Jose Ramirez Won’t Win MVP – But He’s Fueling Guardians’ Historic Comeback

Back on July 6, the Tigers led the division by 15.5 games. Today, the Tigers only hold a one-game lead after going 5-13 to open September.

With six regular season games remaining, the 84-72 Guardians will have the opportunity to leapfrog the 85-71 Tigers and take control in the divisional race. Cleveland could potentially win the AL Central, earn a Wild Card place, or fall out of playoff contention.

Guardians fans are hoping that their team can complete a late-season rally similar to the 1978 New York Yankees, who spoiled the rival Boston Red Sox’s 14-game divisional lead and won a one-game playoff to send Boston packing.

The 1978 Yankees had a gritty leader at third base in Graig Nettles. In 2025, Jose Ramirez serves as the Guardians’ hot corner driving force and emotional leader.

Carlos Baerga played second base for the 1995 Cleveland team that went all the way to the World Series. The former three-time All-Star offered big praise for Ramirez.

“He’s going to be remembered (as) one of the best players to play in this uniform,” Baerga said of Ramirez on the Carlos Baerga Show.

Ramirez’s 2025 season would earn him the AL MVP nod in virtually any other season if it weren’t for the otherworldly campaigns of Yankees’ 1.123 OPS outfielder Aaron Judge and Seattle Mariners’ 58-homer catcher Cal Raleigh.

The 33-year-old lifetime Guardian is batting .282 with 30 home runs, 81 RBIs, 40 stolen bases and a .863 OPS through 152 games played.

Over his last seven games, Ramirez has been torrid at the dish. He’s hitting .308 with two home runs, four RBIs and logged an OPS of 1.053.

Though Steven Kwan and Gavin Williams have made valuable contributions to the Guardians’ miraculous late-season charge, Ramirez is Cleveland’s undoubted Most Valuable Player. He’s taken the Guardians from longshot to white-hot.