Alejandro Ramos Jr. (born September 20, 1986) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

, and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

Professional career

Ramos attended Estacado High School in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

. He then enrolled at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, United States. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams us ...

. In 2008, Ramos underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

Miami Marlins

The

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

selected Ramos in the 21st round, with the 638th overall selection, of the

2009 Major League Baseball draft The 2009 Major League Baseball draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The drafting order is as follows: First-round selections Key Supplemental first-round selections From Baseball Americ ...

. Ramos was called up to the majors for the first time on September 4, 2012. In 2014, Ramos had a 7–0 win–loss record with a 2.11

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. Ramos became the Marlins'

closing pitcher In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL), is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is often assigned to a team's best reliev ...

in 2015, due to the struggles of Steve Cishek. In 2016, Ramos successfully converted his first 24 save opportunities, setting a franchise record. He was named to appear in the 2016 MLB All-Star Game. Ramos and the Marlins agreed on a $6.55 million salary for the 2017 season.

New York Mets

On July 28, 2017, Ramos was traded to the

in exchange for minor leaguers Merandy González and Ricardo Cespedes. In May 2018, Ramos suffered a shoulder strain that would keep him out for the rest of the season. He became a free agent on October 29, 2018.

Los Angeles Dodgers

In July 2020, Ramos announced he would be attempting a comeback to the major leagues. On July 2, Ramos signed a minor league deal with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

organization. He was released on August 28 without appearing in a game.

Chicago Cubs

On September 1, 2020, Ramos signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

organization. He was released by the organization on September 3.

Colorado Rockies

On September 5, 2020, Ramos signed a minor league contract with the

organization. On September 19, Ramos was selected to the major league roster, and made his first appearance in the majors since May 2018. He pitched in 3 games for Colorado, allowing 1 run in innings. He became a free agent following the season.

Los Angeles Angels

On March 26, 2021, Ramos signed a minor league contract with the

organization. Ramos was assigned to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

, making 42 appearances and working to a 5.26 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 53 innings of work. On September 23, Ramos' contract was selected by the Angels. In four major league appearances, Ramos gave up no runs while striking out three in innings pitched. On March 11, 2022, Ramos re-signed with the Angels on a minor league contract. On March 29, Ramos was diagnosed with a torn capsule in his right shoulder, ending his season before it began. He was released by the team on April 5. On April 6, Ramos announced his retirement from professional baseball via Twitter.

Personal life

Ramos is an ambassador for Up2Us Sports, a national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting underserved youth by providing them with coaches trained in positive youth development. He is of Mexican American descent.http://redraiders.com/news/2017-04-06/lubbock-native-ramos-turns-down-wbc-ready-close-again-marlins

References

External links

*
Texas Tech Red Raiders bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, A. J. 1986 births Living people Baseball players from Lubbock, Texas American baseball players of Mexican descent Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars Miami Marlins players New York Mets players Colorado Rockies players Los Angeles Angels players Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball players Jamestown Jammers players Greensboro Grasshoppers players Jupiter Hammerheads players Jacksonville Suns players Salt Lake Bees players Surprise Saguaros players