The Official Site of Hanley Ramirez

Sat, Apr 19th 2008, 20:02

Winning runs through Ramirez's mind

When it’s all said and done, the steals will be there. Hanley Ramirez insists on it.

On Friday night, Ramirez stole two bases in the Marlins’ 6-4 loss to the Nationals. By swiping a pair, the speedy leadoff batter doubled his total to four on the season.

“It’s only like 16 or so games,” Ramirez bristled when reminded of his stolen-base totals. “I’m going to get 50, don’t worry.”

Based on his track record, there is no reason to doubt him.

Ramirez has stolen 51 bases in each of the past two seasons. So reaching the half-century mark for a third straight season isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

No Marlin has had at least three 50-steal seasons. Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo had reached the number twice. Pierre holds the franchise record of 65 in 2003, while Castillo’s best year was 62 in 2000.

Before the season, manager Fredi Gonzalez talked about Ramirez perhaps cutting down his stolen-base numbers in an attempt to preserve his legs. The 24-year-old remains in the leadoff spot, although in the future, Ramirez projects to slide to third or somewhere in the middle of the order.

Keeping Ramirez healthy is first and foremost. In the offseason, he had surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder. Fully recovered, the young shortstop is off to another terrific start.

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