CLEVELAND _ Prior to their game last Sunday in Detroit, the visiting Indians were celebrating well before their 11-8 win over the Tigers.
Indians manager Terry Francona was running down the announcement of who on the club had been selected for the All-Star Game. When he got to Jose Ramirez and announced the news that he wasn't just on the American League team, but that he'd be the starting third baseman, the clubhouse erupted.
"If you could have been in the clubhouse on Sunday when (Francona) announced the All-Stars, and they got to Jose as a starter, everybody just really cheered and clapped as teammates," bench coach Brad Mills said. "And you can see that eruption, you see the look on their faces, they're thrilled to death that this guy gets the honor that he definitely deserved because of what he's done in the past and the things he's done not only this year but to get to this point. It has been pretty cool."
Ramirez had won the fan vote, which determines the starting lineups, by making a late charge to overtake the Minnesota Twins' Miguel Sano. But, fan vote or not, Ramirez earned the selection on the field. Entering the All-Star break, Ramirez ranks in the top seven in all of baseball in batting average (3rd, .332), slugging percentage (5th, .601), OPS (6th, .988), wRC+ (7th, 157) and fWAR (6th, 4.0). He's been one of baseball's top 10 hitters, arguably top 5. He just hasn't stopped hitting and, by many accounts, he's been the Indians' MVP thus far.
"You see how the players love him and they respect him for what he has meant to them and this club," Mills said of Ramirez. "You get in a situation where here's a guy (who) never gives up on an at-bat, and he's there battling every ounce out of a ballgame. He's going to give everything he can to the ballclub to help win games."
It's why Ramirez received the ovation he did. In roughly a year and a half, he's transformed from a young utility player who hadn't yet caught on to a highly valuable third baseman with a season and a half of terrific play, and he's only trending upward.
And, on Tuesday night in Miami, he'll be at third base and hitting in the No. 2 spot for the All-Star team.
"They were really happy for all of us who made it, and I'm happy for the other players who made it as well," Ramirez said of the reaction back in that Detroit clubhouse. "I'm just happy."
Along with Ramirez, the Indians are also sending starting pitcher Corey Kluber, shortstop Francisco Lindor, outfielder Michael Brantley and relief pitcher Andrew Miller to the All-Star Game.
Lindor, Brantley and Miller were all voted in by the players and will be reserves. Kluber, who was voted in by the commissioner's office, will not pitch in the game after starting Sunday's game against Detroit. Considering Kluber recently came off the disabled list with a strained lower back, it wasn't the most difficult decision.
"The competitive spirit in all of us probably wants to get out there and pitch," Kluber said. "But I think at the same time, you kind of have to look at a bigger picture. My job is to pitch for the Indians, not to pitch for the American League All-Star team. As fun as it would've been, I think that using better judgment was probably to try to set myself up to stay healthy for the second half of the season _ hopefully, beyond."
It's Kluber's second consecutive All-Star selection. He didn't make the All-Star team in 2014 when he won the Cy Young. But as his accolades build, he remembers it wasn't long ago that he was, largely, just another prospect in the system.
"I think that it's kind of far-fetched I guess to think back to where I would have _ a handful of years ago to imagine making my second All-Star team," Kluber said. "It's not anything that I take for granted. I think it's a little bit of a validation _ made it last year and now you kind of made it again. It's not a kind of a fluke-type thing, I guess."
It was also pretty clear the players around the league respected the work Brantley had put in to return to the lineup and continue to be productive. Brantley being on the field in Miami will in a way signify his long road traveled, one that wasn't easy to navigate.
"There were some dark days and long nights, but the training staff, the doctors kept me positive," Brantley said. "I just kept working, just kept going after it. Nothing was guaranteed, not even coming out of spring training. I didn't know if I was going to make the Opening Day roster. I mean, weeks, months, whatever it was going to take, but I was lucky how everything paid off."
