Dodgers’ Yohan Ramírez Has Turned Season Around Following Viral Moment With Dave Roberts
Yohan Ramírez has had a roller coaster of a journey in 2024. The Baltimore Orioles selected his contract in April from the New York Mets, then the Mets took him back in early May, and finally, the Dodgers signed him from the Mets on May 20.
At the point when the Dodgers signed him, Ramírez had a 6.91 ERA across 14.1 innings pitched. Perhaps what the Dodgers saw in him though, was the 3.56 FIP and .342 BABIP. This indicates that perhaps he’s been unlucky with little help from his defense.
His first two appearances with Los Angeles could not have been any different. Against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ramírez threw two shutout innings. Three days later, against the Cincinnati Reds, he did not record an out after walking a batter and hitting two more – all three batters would later come in to score.
Then, his season turned around on May 26 against those same Reds. After hitting two more batters in the eighth to load the bases, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came out of the dugout. Usually, this signals he’s going to another reliever, but this time was a little different.
In a now-viral clip, the Dodgers skipper put his arms around Ramírez and talked to him for a good 20 seconds. On the next pitch, he got the batter to line out to right field ending the inning.
No one knows what Roberts said to Ramírez then, but it certainly made a positive impact. Since then, the veteran right-hander has not given up an earned run in his last 6.1 innings pitched.
The impact of the Dodgers manager –
Ramírez has been an entirely different pitcher since this moment. His command has dramatically improved and he’s pitching with real confidence.
Possibly the best example of this came Friday night against the New York Yankees. The Dodgers finally broke through in the top of the 11th to take a 2-0 lead. With no other choice, Roberts turned to Ramírez in a save opportunity against the top of the Yankees lineup.
The right-hander first struck out former Dodger Alex Verdugo on four pitches. Then, Yankees captain Aaron Judge somehow got to a ball well inside and roped it down the left field line scoring the ghost runner.
With Judge on first in a 2-1 game, Ramírez got Giancarlo Stanton looking at a four-seam fastball down the heart of the plate. Finally, in a rather exciting finish, Anthony Rizzo popped out in foul territory and catcher Will Smith made a nice catch.
That final catch had a bit of everything. The atmosphere was electric, as close to a playoff game as one could get in June. Then, the ball had some tailing action which caused Smith to have to bend backward to secure the catch.
Ramírez was not about to let that ball land though. Ramírez came sprinting off the mound and slid under the backstop’s glove just in case. That play could have led to disaster with a collision or Ramírez generally interfering with Smith forcing him to drop the ball.
Afterward, though, Ramírez popped up and embraced Smith in pure elation as he just secured his first save of 2024. Roberts catches a lot of flack for his in-game decisions. However, no one should criticize how well he handles his players.
Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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