Cleveland Guardians singer Jose Ramirez has come close to winning the American League MVP award several times in his career.
He finished third in both 2017 and 2018 and second in 2020.
He looks set to make another run in 2022, though his competition will remain: Aaron Judge is spending the season of his life, and Mike Trout is back with a push, for example.
Ramirez, however, is already gaining a significant lead in a section of choice for some old-school voters: the RBI.
This is actually a statistic that counts for the heating triple crown.
Today, we know that the RBI is not the best statistic for measuring offensive talent, as it depends on many factors that often protect it from attackers, but the RBI kings are still respected in the game.
“Your MLB RBI leader,” tweeted Bally Sports Cleveland, showing Ramirez’s 41 RBIs with a graphic as of May 23.
Your MLB RBI Leader 6 pic.twitter.com/H5KQnMTtZi
– Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) May 24, 2022
A record RBI speed
Ramirez has collected 41 RBIs in 36 games.
If he maintains this momentum, he will end the season with more than 162 RBIs.
This is unlikely to happen, especially since the top-of-the-order heaters in front of him have cooled down a bit since the incredible start of the season.
However, Ramirez can finish comfortably with the career-best RBI mark.
His highest score so far in 2018 was 105.
At this point, if he is healthy, he should cross that mark without any problems.
Will this be the year that Ramirez will finally win that elusive MVP award?
He is cutting .287 / .383 / .601 with 23 runs, 10 homers, 41 RBIs, and four steals.
He may be a dark-skinned candidate, but with all his competition he has to make his game even better.