Aramis Ramirez Aramis RamÃrez (born June 25, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a third baseman in Major League Baseball who plays for the Chicago Cubs since 2003. Previously, RamÃrez played with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1998-2003). RamÃrez was signed as a 16 year old free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1994. He made his major league debut Pirates in 1998 at the ripe age of 20. RamÃrez struggled in his first three seasons while showing great potential.
In 2001, RamÃrez exploded for 34 home runs and 112 RBI to go along with a .300 average. Injuries and a terrible batting slump in 2002 to go along with Pittsburgh's need to trim payroll made him expendable, and in the 2003 midseason, the Pirates traded RamÃrez along with outfielder Kenny Lofton to the Chicago Cubs.
RamÃrez finished the 2003 season strong in Chicago, and led his team into the playoffs, where the Cubs defeated the favored Atlanta Braves, before being beaten by the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins in a tightly contested seven-game NLCS.
RamÃrez played extremely well during the 2004 season, and despite nursing a sore hamstring, led the Cubs in hitting and RBI for most of the season. Long derided for poor defense, his play at third base has been well above average. Cubs manager Dusty Baker considered RamÃrez one of the key ingredients in the Cubs' failed drive for the playoffs. That was strong praise on a team that includes stars the likes of Nomar Garciaparra, Corey Patterson, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux, and Carlos Zambrano.
In 2005, he was named to his first all-star game, where he started after NL 3rd basemen vote winner Scott Rolen pulled out of the game due to injury concerns. Ramirez finished the 2005 season on the disabled list, yet, still completed the season with thirty-one home runs and 92 RBIs.
As a spoof of/reference to Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, many Cubs fans refer to Ramirez as "A-Ram."
