Alexander Ramón Ramírez Quiñónez (born 3 October 1974), nicknamed , is a Venezuelan-born former professional baseball outfielder known for his time in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He holds the all time hit record for a foreign player in NPB with 2,017 and is the only foreigner to reach the 2,000 mark. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023 and the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.

Before playing in Japan, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (1998–2000) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2000).

He managed the Yokohama BayStars from 2016 to 2020.

Professional baseball career

Major League Baseball Ramírez signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in July 1991. In 1995, he was a replacement player during the ongoing strike for Cleveland, playing in one spring training game. He was named the team's 1998 Minor League Player of the Year, getting the Lou Boudreau Award.

Ramírez made his MLB debut with Cleveland in 1998. On 28 July 2000, the Indians traded Ramírez and Enrique Wilson to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Wil Cordero. Across three MLB seasons, Ramírez batted .259 with 12 home runs, 48 runs batted in (RBI), 38 runs scored, 17 doubles, three triples, and three stolen bases in 135 games.

Nippon Professional Baseball After the 2000 season, Ramírez signed with the Yakult Swallows (2001–2007) and was their cleanup hitter. During his final season with the Swallows he set the Central League record for most base hits in a single season with 204. (This record did not stand long, as Hanshin Tigers outfielder Matt Murton surpassed Ramírez's tally en route to finishing the 2010 season with 214 hits.)

The 2007 season was Ramírez's last with the Swallows, who did offer him the multi-year contract he sought. Instead, the outfielder signed with the Yomiuri Giants for the 2008 season. Ramírez quickly flourished with his new team. In 2008, he led the Central League with 125 RBI while hitting .319 (sixth in the league) with 45 home runs (second). He also hit two home runs in Game 2 of the Japan Series, including one in the bottom of the ninth to win Game 2. At the end of the 2008 season, Ramírez won the Central League MVP Award. He was the third Venezuelan player to be so honored in Japanese baseball, joining Roberto Petagine (Central League, 2001) and Alex Cabrera (Pacific League, 2002).

After playing eight seasons in NPB, Ramirez obtained FA Right in 2008 and was no longer counted as a foreign player for roster purposes. , only four foreign players in NPB history had accrued enough service time to achieve the classification.

On 6 April 2013, Ramirez hit a home run to record his 2,000th career hit in the NPB, becoming the 42nd player and the first foreign player to accomplish the feat. This accomplishment also earned Ramírez an invitation to the Meikyukai, a private club recognizing Japan's elite players. He was the first Western player to be so honored.

Baseball Challenge League Ramírez spent the 2014 season as a player-coach with the Gunma Diamond Pegasus of Japan's Baseball Challenge League. In 45 games, he hit .305 with 7 home runs and 38 RBI.Hongo, Jun. "Longtime Baseball Star Alex Ramirez Retires From the Diamond," Wall Street Journal blog (15 October 2014). He retired after the 2014 season and became the Diamond Pegasus' senior director.Gen. "Alex Ramirez named Gunma Diamond Pegasus Senior Director," Yakyubaka.com (29 October 2014).

Coaching In the middle of the 2015, Ramírez joined the Orix Buffaloes as an advisor, mentoring younger players. In October 2015 he was named as the BayStars manager for the 2016 season, replacing Kiyoshi Nakahata who resigned at the end of the 2015 season due to the team's poor performance. In his first season managing, the team finished 69–71–3, finishing third in the Central League, and advancing to the Climax Series, where the BayStars defeated the Yomiuri Giants, 2–1 in the first round before falling to the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, 4–1, in the league championship round. In his second year as manager, the BayStars reached the 2017 Japan Series, but lost to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, 4 games to 2. Ramírez coached the team through the 2020 season.

Ramírez founded and coached Japan Breeze, which competed in the 2025 Caribbean Series. The team went 0–4 and was no-hit in a mercy rule loss in the tournament.

Career statistics

Nippon Professional BaseballYearAgeTeamGABRH2B3BHRTBRBISBAVG 27 Yakult 138 510 60 143 23 0 29 253 88 1 .280 28 Yakult 139 539 65 159 25 0 24 256 92 0 .295 29 Yakult 140 567 105 189 34 3 40 349 124 4 .333 30 Yakult 129 525 79 160 30 2 31 287 110 2 .305 31 Yakult 146 596 70 168 19 1 32 285 104 5 .282 32 Yakult 146 603 79 161 28 2 26 271 112 0 .267 33 Yakult 144 594 80 204 41 3 29 338 122 0 .343 34 Yomiuri 144 548 84 175 28 0 45 338 125 1 .319 35 Yomiuri 144 577 66 186 35 0 31 314 103 4 .322 36 Yomiuri 144 566 93 172 28 0 49 347 129 1 .304 37 Yomiuri 137 477 39 133 12 1 23 216 73 2 .279 38 DeNA 137 476 40 143 25 0 19 225 76 0 .300 39 DeNA 56 130 6 24 0 0 2 30 14 0 .185Total1,7446,7088662,017330123803,7091,27220 Statistics current as of 21 November 2014

Business career In February 2013, Ramirez, his wife, and his son opened a restaurant in Tokyo called Ramichan Cafe, serving the cuisine of Puerto Rico, where his wife grew up. The restaurant has since closed.

Ramirez has spoken about his faith, saying, "I believe [continuing to play baseball] is my desire, but it's not my life. God has already blessed me with this career, and whatever God has planned for me, I will be happy to follow that, whether or not I play baseball again. It's not what I want; it's what God wants for me."

In January 2019, Ramirez became a Japanese citizen.

See also List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela List of top Nippon Professional Baseball home run hitters List of Nippon Professional Baseball players with 1,000 runs batted in List of Nippon Professional Baseball career hits leaders

References

External links

Retrosheet