Mario Martin Ramos (born October 19, 1977) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

pitcher. Ramos was born in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, af ...

. He went to Pflugerville High School in

Pflugerville, Texas Pflugerville ( ) is a city in Travis County, Texas, United States, with a small portion in Williamson County. The population was 65,191 at the 2020 census. Pflugerville is a suburb of Austin and part of the Austin–Round Rock–San Ma ...

, where he also resides today. He was a 5'11", 180-pound pitcher. Before being drafted, Ramos attended

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universit ...

. In 1996, the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

drafted him in the 48th round (1399th overall). He decided not to sign and continued to pitch for Rice. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

, he was drafted by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

in the 6th round (183rd)—this time he signed. From 2000–2001, Ramos had a 30-9 record in the minors. On January 14, 2002, he was traded to the Texas Rangers along with Jason Hart,

Gerald Laird Gerald Lee Laird III (born November 13, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks. C ...

and Ryan Ludwick for

Carlos Peña Carlos Felipe Peña (born May 17, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, C ...

and

Mike Venafro Michael Robert Venafro (born August 2, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher. He played professionally for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Ro ...

. From 2002–2003, his winning percentage dropped to .379 (11-18 record). That trade, it seems, had a very bad effect on his career. Even though he had a mediocre (at best) season in the minors in 2003, he was still called up to the Rangers. On June 19, he made his major league debut. At the end of 2003, he was selected off waivers from the Rangers by the team who drafted him, the Oakland Athletics. Even though he was rumored to be part of a deal being concocted between 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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...

and Athletics for

Milton Bradley Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...

, he was not traded, and he remained in the Athletics' farm system. From 2004 through 2005, he played in the Athletics farm system. In 2006, he was with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

in their system. He was back in the Athletics system in 2007. Ramos was a teammate of

Marc Gwyn Marcus Edwin Gwyn (born November 4, 1977) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Career After being drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 2000 Major League Baseball draft, Gwyn made his major league debut on July 29, , for ...

, Jason Hart and Ryan Ludwick for four years — longer than any other teammates. His cousin, Dominic Ramos, also plays professional baseball. Since 2019-2020, Ramos is a 6th grade principal of Cele Middle School.

Honors and awards

*In 1999, he was a Second Team College All-American and a

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to most of ...

All-Star. *In 2000, he was a California League All-Star and a High A All-Star. *In 2001, he was a

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form ...

Second Team Minor League All-Star and the Oakland Athletics Minor League Player of the Year.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Mario 1977 births Living people All-American college baseball players Baseball players from Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers Rice Owls baseball players People from Pflugerville, Texas Sportspeople from Aurora, Illinois Texas Rangers players Arizona League Padres players Frisco RoughRiders players Midland RockHounds players Mobile BayBears players Modesto A's players Oklahoma RedHawks players Portland Beavers players Sacramento River Cats players