Guardians Notes: Jose Ramirez closing in on another franchise record

CLEVELAND — Jose Ramirez has already broken multiple franchise records during his 13 seasons in Cleveland, but he's closing in on a mark that means a little more to him than the rest. During the season-opening road trip, Ramirez passed Nap Lajoie to move into second on Cleveland's all-time games played list at 1,616. He entered Friday four away from surpassing Terry Turner to become the leader and will likely break the record at Progressive Field on Monday. "Among all the records, I feel like that's one of the most important to me, because it kind of represents what I wanted to do with this team," Ramirez said through an interpreter prior to the home opener. "Thank God for keeping me healthy and to be able to play like that. "I think that was my ultimate goal, to be able to play as long as I have with this team and to be able to represent this organization. I feel like that was my ultimate desire that I had once I signed. On Day 1, this organization gave me a chance to become a professional, just to be able to stay here and play as long as I have is special." As he reflected on his time in Cleveland, the 33-year-old Ramirez was asked if he remembered his major league debut in 2013 at the age of 20. "I just recall a young guy who was really hungry and trying to make a name for himself and stay in the majors as long as I could," Ramirez said. Despite his longevity and seven All-Star selections, Ramirez has maintained the hunger throughout his career, rarely taking a day off and going all out whenever he's on the field. It's a perfect example set for younger players by the veteran face of the franchise. "I think that comes from the desire and the love for this game," Ramirez said. "When you love this game and want to win the way I want to win, the hunger stays there, so the hunger's never going to go away." Ramirez has been an Ironman for Cleveland. Excluding the pandemic-shortened season in 2020, he has played in at least 150 games eight of the last nine seasons while avoiding a lengthy stint on the injured list, but that doesn't mean Ramirez hasn't played hurt. "I think it goes back to the hunger part. When you're really hungry, you realize you have to be there for your teammates, even if you're not feeling really well," he said. "It goes back to the offseason, how you prepare, how you know your body and how you manage it when you're not feeling your best — you can keep that constant hunger." For much of his career, Ramirez and his team have been overlooked, and underestimated. Nothing has changed this year, with most of the national media picking the Guardians to finish around .500 despite winning consecutive Central Division titles. "I think it comes down to being in a small market," Ramirez said. "We don't have those players that get paid $500 million, $600 million. But that's the beautiful thing about baseball, anyone can win, anyone can compete." Balls and strikes Manager Stephen Vogt said his team is still trying to figure out the ABS system in play for the first time this season. "We're still learning all the different intricacies of the ABS," he said. "The human element of this is real. You don't want to be wrong (on a challenge). It's the last thing you're thinking of when you're at the plate, 'challenge or no challenge.' It's going to take us a while to get used to it, but we're talking about it, we're working on it, and we'll see how it pans out. "It's just like the pitch clock. We need to learn how to use it," he said. "I think it's great for some of the egregious calls. I'm kind of an old-school guy, so it's definitely a change." Vogt said he encourages players to use the new rule. "We want to challenge. We want to win as many challenges as we can," he said. "We don't care about our percentage. We need to continue to use it, because you're going to learn how to get better at it by using it. We don't have any rules. There are some times when we might say, 'We're not going to challenge this inning because we want to save it later in the game.' "I actually like it when they get it wrong, because that gives us a chance to talk about it. It gives us things to talk about so we can learn together to use it." Vogt acknowledges umpires may not feel the same way. "I think they probably all have different views on it themselves, right?" he said. "It doesn't feel good when you get something wrong in front of 50,000 people and they get a crowd reaction." Doctor's office Outfielder George Valera (left calf strain) made his first rehab appearance for Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday, going 0-for-4 with a walk."He came out of it healthy," Vogt said. "The results of rehab stints, you really don't start looking at that until they play a couple games and get back in their feet." Chase DeLauter and Angel Martinez were in the lineup despite sustaining minor injuries during the season-opening road trip.DeLauter fouled a ball off his surgically repaired left foot and missed the series finale against the Dodgers on Wednesday, while Martinez was hit by pitches in the same spot on his leg in consecutive games. Roundin' third The Guardians committed only one error through their first seven games. Steven Kwan produced multihit games in three of his first seven games. Gold-medal winning U.S. women's hockey player and Cleveland Heights native Laila Edwards threw out the ceremonial first pitch to a rousing ovation from the sellout crowd. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.