CLEVELAND — “No, never,” Steven Kwan started, before he paused, tilted his head and scanned his memory bank to confirm if he had ever witnessed a player stealing home. He reached his conclusion.
“Literally never,” Kwan said.
José Ramírez altered what his teammates believed was possible to observe at a ballpark. The Guardians’ boldest base runner had authored his magnum opus: a two-out, two-strike, go-ahead, rubbing-the-eyes-to-make-sure-it-was-real steal of home.
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And the opposing manager, the Royals’ Matt Quatraro, had a hunch it was coming.
Quatraro worked with Ramírez for four years as Cleveland’s assistant hitting coach. He later worked on Tampa Bay’s coaching staff and had a front-row seat to Randy Arozarena stealing home during one of his October masterclasses. He’s no stranger to Ramírez’s conquests on the basepaths, and he recalled how Ramírez converted a bloop to left field into a 270-foot scamper that positioned the Guardians to score a critical run in Game 2 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium last fall.
“That was something that, as coaches,” Quatraro said, “we were like, ‘We need to save this to show to our guys.’”
So 12 days ago, when Ramírez lingered down the line and Aroldis Chapman came set, Quatraro had an inkling Ramírez might bolt for the plate, a perilous choice only someone with his credentials and courage could entertain. Quatraro thought Ramírez, a five-time All-Star and baserunning savant, was just audacious enough to try it.
There’s nothing like it in baseball. A straight steal of home is infrequent like a no-hitter and thrilling like a walk-off. To steal home requires a perfect confluence of events. It requires a blend of precision, impudence and conviction.
“Or else being smart enough to know that if you’re out by six steps,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said, “somebody’s not going to be happy.”
There is nothing José Ramírez can't do.
This slide is just…#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/xmvQrQ4e2c
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 29, 2023
Ramírez was retreating to the bag after Chapman’s 0-2 pitch to Cleveland second baseman Andrés Giménez in the top of the 10th inning on June 29 in Kansas City. As he passed Mike Sarbaugh, after kicking around the idea during the previous at-bat, Ramírez discreetly said to the Guardians’ third-base coach: “I’m thinking about stealing home.” Sarbaugh quickly, nonchalantly replied: “Go for it.”
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That was it. The more discussion, the more attention they would garner.
“It wasn’t even really a conversation,” Sarbaugh said.
And it had to be the runner who sparked it.
“A guy has to have that instinct,” Sarbaugh said. “(I can’t) go approach someone. They have to be thinking ahead.”
They can’t devote a split-second to considering how such a risky action could go awry, either. There are potholes at every turn: an injury, a third strike, a swing, a step-off and throw. Any sliver of hesitation can derail the entire plan.
Who would even think about volunteering for such an assignment?
“José. He has a lot of crazy thoughts,” teammate Myles Straw said.
Sarbaugh: “That’s what makes him who he is.”
Outfielder Will Brennan: “You have to be a little bit out of your mind.”
Outfielder Steven Kwan: “Almost a little bit ignorant. So much belief in yourself, like, ‘It doesn’t matter. I have this idea and I’m just gonna do it.’”
Catcher Cam Gallagher: “Fearlessness.”
Sarbaugh: “Daringness, especially with two strikes.”
Francona: “José is the prototypical kind of ‘pull the cape off and go’ (runner). He’s fearless, but he’s also extremely intelligent. When we talk to our guys, we always talk about being aggressive and being intelligent. He’s the best example of that.”
“He’s fearless, but he’s also extremely intelligent,” manager Terry Francona said of José Ramírez, pictured running the bases last weekend. (Ken Blaze / USA Today)
Sarbaugh isn’t sure who else could execute such a maneuver, but he wishes he could have seen Rajai Davis try. Davis had stealing second or third down to a science, from the cadence of his steps in attaining a lead to his hand placement as he awaited the pitcher’s delivery. He never pulled off a straight steal of home, though.
The former Cleveland outfielder led the American League with 43 steals (in 49 attempts) in 2016, as he approached his 36th birthday. Davis estimated he could steal 75 or 80 bases — “with my eyes closed” — with the new rules MLB implemented that limit pickoff attempts.
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“You don’t see many players who, everybody in the ballpark knows you’re trying to steal a base,” Sarbaugh said. “The pitcher knows it. Everybody knows it. And you can steal a bag. It’s rare. That’s what Rajai did.”
For Ramírez, on the other hand, it was imperative against Kansas City that nobody suspected he would actually take off.
Quatraro: “He didn’t overtly (telegraph it).”
Sarbaugh: “The element of surprise.”
Ramírez: “Nobody knew. I just did it myself.”
With two strikes, Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia backed off from the bag, so Ramírez had more freedom to inch down the line. But to even consider such a brash move, he needed a handful of variables to fall into place.
First, he said, in a 2-2 game in the top of the 10th, knowing the Royals would begin the bottom of the inning with a runner at second, he thought it was pivotal the Guardians push across a run. With two outs and a left-handed hitter facing a left-handed pitcher — whose fastball topped out at 101.7 mph that afternoon — Ramírez figured a dash to the plate might be the best chance for Cleveland to grab the lead.
He had the right pitcher on the mound (well, the right pitcher was a left-handed pitcher, who had his back turned to third base). Chapman leaned on a deliberate motion, too.
“He was out of the stretch,” Sarbaugh said, “but he did a little extra-high leg kick.”
He had the right hitter at the plate in Giménez, a lefty, who could see Ramírez darting toward the plate and opt not to swing. Chapman threw the perfect pitch: a 97.5 mph heater level with Giménez’s eyebrows that forced Royals catcher Salvador Perez to reach in the opposite direction from where he could tag Ramírez. It was the only ball of the seven-pitch at-bat.
“If the pitch is down, where José is,” Sarbaugh said, “it could have turned out differently.”
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Above all else, Ramírez was equipped with elite base-running instincts, plus just enough athleticism to not only dash down the line, but creatively wiggle around Perez’s glove as he lunged toward home, body extended, helmet dislodged, hand brushing the top-right corner of the plate.
Pitcher Shane Bieber: “His baseball mind is next-level.”
Gallagher: “His mind is insane.”
Assistant coach J.T. Maguire: “He knew he was going to be safe. He trusted his instincts.”
José Ramírez looks to the umpire after barreling home and beating the tag from catcher Salvador Perez. (William Purnell / USA Today)
Ramírez was initially ruled out, but he popped to his feet and immediately waved his right index finger to urge acting manager DeMarlo Hale to challenge the call.
“You knew he was safe, just by his reaction,” Gallagher said.
The call was overturned. Ramírez executed baseball’s most daring play to perfection, the first straight steal of home by a Cleveland player in four years (and only the second since 2005).
“I’m glad it worked from the standpoint of showing our guys, not only our base runners, but our defenders,” Quatraro said, “if you see something, be proactive.”
Some players noted they’ve mulled the opportunity when a catcher lazily returns the ball to the pitcher. In fact, Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz completed a stolen-base cycle of sorts in that fashion over the weekend.
“If you get a catcher who’s lolly-popping it back and the third baseman is way off,” Brennan said, “you have a chance.”
But on an actual pitch, by a guy throwing heat? That’s a different dimension.
Brennan: “I’ll wait for some tenure before I’m allowed to do that.”
Straw: “It has to be perfect.”
Pitcher Tanner Bibee: “There are so many factors to it.”
Brennan: “I was on deck. I was just trying to get my timing down and he just takes off. (Giggles) Coolest thing ever.”
Bibee: “Everyone was looking around, like, ‘Oh. My. God.’”
Bieber: “A steal of home is the top of the top. It’s rare, ballsy, aggressive.”
Kwan: “That was freakin’ unbelievable. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen on the field.”
(Top photo of José Ramírez stealing home on June 29: Kyle Rivas / Getty Images)
Zack Meisel is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Cleveland Guardians and Major League Baseball. Zack was named the 2021 Ohio Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association and won first place for best sports coverage from the Society of Professional Journalists. He has been on the beat since 2011 and is the author of four books, including "Cleveland Rocked," the tale of the 1995 team. Follow Zack on Twitter @ZackMeisel
