It grinds my guts to give this award to the guy that capped off tonight’s ugly loss by my Seattle Mariners. Ramos hit a game-winning three-run homer off of M’s reliever David Pauley to cap a five run ninth inning comeback by the surprising Washington Nationals. Ramos has done well in his first full season of platoon time with future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez. In his first 250 AB, Ramos is hitting .251 with 6 HR and 24 RBI. The Nationals acquired the 23 year old Venezuelan in a trade with the Minnesota Twins last season for then closer Matt Capps. I thought that Ramos would be a nice place holder for Washington while blue chip backstop Derek Norris continued to develop. Now it looks as if it may be Ramos that is the long term successor to Pudge, leaving Norris as a valuable trading chip.
Ramos’ first year autographs can be found in the 2008 Donruss Threads set (the one above is #/25). More abundant are the ones residing in the 2009 Topps Chrome set. Prior to tonight’s devastating blast, these cards could be had for $4-6 each. Now they have increased about 50%, but that should just be a short term celebratory phenomenon.
Other Notable Performances:
Click here to see the rare Jemile Weeks Team USA Auto **#2/2**
Jemile Weeks managed just one hit in three at bats, but when he reached base, he did everything in his power to score. And score he did, three times as a matter of fact, in Oakland’s
7-3 drubbing of the New York Mets’ super rookie Dillon Gee. Weeks has been outstanding in his short time with the A’s, hitting .362 with four doubles, three triples, two stolen bases, six RBI and seven runs scored. Mark Ellis is due back from the disabled list on Wednesday, but with the way Weeks has been playing, it will be hard to send him anywhere but atop Oakland’s lineup. Weeks was one of the players in the 2008 draft class that signed an exclusive contract with Razor, therefore he doesn’t have that much product out on the market right now aside from Razor and Upper Deck Team USA baseball. His Razor cards can be had for $8-11 each as can a majority of his Team USA autos. Weeks has nestled quite comfortably into that #1 spot in the order, a spot that is ideal for a player of his talents. The A’s are going nowhere this season and it is only a matter of time before players like Mark Ellis end up being packaged off and shipped off to other organizations. Barring any major struggles, Jemile Weeks is here to stay and he’s a big piece to the bright future of the Oakland A’s franchise.
