By Eduardo Rosario
Outfielder Heliot Ramos, along with ace pitcher Logan Webb, will be representing the San Francisco Giants in the 2024 All-Star Game. The mid-summer classic will be held at Globe Life Field, home of the 2023 World Series champions Texas Rangers. For each, it is their first-time getting the nod to play in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game. Logan Webb has had great name recognition, particularly considering coming in as the #2 pitcher for the 2023 National League Cy Young Award. But in the case of Heliot Ramos, for many SF Giants fans, and San Francisco Bay Area baseball analysts, he more than deserved consideration for the Mid-Summer Classic. Despite lacking the name recognition that other National League outfielders may have such as Christian Yellich, Jurickson Profar, or Cody Bellinger, Heliot Ramos has been putting up the numbers that he no longer could be ignored, or denied being named an All-Star.
The youngest #SFGiants All-Star since 2015:
Heliot Ramos ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/jHFwgdDHvM
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 7, 2024
Heliot Ramos is part of the next wave of homegrown talent coming through the SF Giants system. Drafted in 2017, he was a top 100 prospect from 2018 to 2021. He made his first big league debut in 2022. Unfortunately, he failed to find consistency in the batter’s box in both the 2022, and 2023 MLB seasons. But he worked hard at his craft, and never allowed himself to get discouraged. Unlike the previous two seasons, he has made a very loud statement on the field with both his glove and bat. Heliot Ramos is the real deal and is here to stay. Bob Melvin, the SF Giants manager admits he did not expect to see Heliot Ramos making the contributions he has been making since being called up from the SF Giants AAA affiliate the Sacramento River Cats, let alone making the National League All-Star team. In a Sports Illustrated article SF Giants manager Bob Melvin commented how Heliot Ramos came out of nowhere, and Melvin even said that no one could’ve predicted he’d be this type of player. “I don’t know how anyone could have predicted this,” Melvin said. Even Ramos wasn’t expecting it.
Heliot Ramos está liderando a todos los bateadores de la Liga Nacional con 22 RBI en el mes de junio 2024. 🏌️ pic.twitter.com/gsU2AV05JV
— MLB Puerto Rico (@MLBPuertoRico) June 24, 2024
Born September 9, 1999, in Humacao, Puerto Rico, at the age of 24, he is one of the youngest players in SF Giants history to make the All-Star team. His batting average over the last 30-days is 379. As of July 8, 2024, the young outfielder is set with a slash line of .299/.370/.517, 12 home runs, 40 RBIs, 24 runs scored, and two stolen bases this season. Mind you, he was not on the original 40-man roster for the 2024 season. The number of injuries being endured by the SF Giants this season not only by their regular players, but injuries also being sustained by their depth from their AAA call-ups is nothing short of overwhelming. It was out of necessity Heliot Ramos was given the opportunity, and he has not disappointed. To help put matters into context on the quality season Heliot Ramos is having consider this. His 2024 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is at 2.9. That has him playing at the same level as perennial Cleveland Guardians third base All-Star Jose Ramirez, who also has a 2.9 WAR for the 2024 season. You cannot refute the facts the numbers do not lie.
According to MLB baseball analyst Sarah Langs, when Heliot Ramos blasted his 12th home run, he also did something not done in more than 50 years of team history. Heliot Ramos’ 12 Home Runs are the most by a Giants player under the age of 25 in his first 51 games of a season since Dave Kingman in 1972 (14). Sarah Langs goes on how Heliot Ramos joins a list of SF Giant outfielders who were 24-years or younger, who played in the All-Star Game. Some of whom have made historic contributions to the game of baseball. Names such Chili Davis (1984), Jack Clark (1978-1979), Orlando Cepeda (1960-1961), Willie Mays (1954-1955), Bobby Thomson (1948), and Willard Marshall (1942). https://x.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1810072210586923445
Heliot Ramos también saca el de cuero a pasear 💃 pic.twitter.com/twsHLkoSsD
— MLB Puerto Rico (@MLBPuertoRico) June 22, 2024
All this to say, from a prospect the Giants had all but lost faith in, then seeing redemption with being named a 2024 All-Star, speaks to why the story of baseball is a great story. As far as the San Francisco Giants are concerned, it is the greatest story for the 2024 season. Particularly, when you take into consideration the level of injuries the SF Giants have sustained as one of the highest in the sport. Along with their shining All-Star outfielder Heliot Ramos, the San Francisco Giants are imagining great things are in the making once their roster is complete with a full complement of healthy players, that are set to return for the second half of the 2o24 baseball season.
Heliot Ramos, a 2024 NL All-Star – Image Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Special Note: Bruce Bochy the manager who led the Texas Rangers to win their first World Series in franchise history and is this year’s manager of the American League All-Star team, was the manager of the San Francisco Giants when they won the World Series in 2010 (Giants vs. Rangers), 2012 (Giants vs Tigers), and 2014 (Giants vs. Royals). When the Giants were last playing in Arlington, Texas, against the Texas Rangers in early June 2024, in one of the games of the series, Heliot Ramos drove in all three runs for San Francisco, with his two-run homer securing the lead and a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers. When Heliot Ramos returns to Arlington, let us see if he can pick up from where he left off.
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