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Sat, Sep 13th 2008, 23:39
Hanley hits historic homer
Historic home runs are starting to pile up for the Marlins.
All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez belted his 30th home run of the season on Saturday night, a two-run blast off Washington’s Tim Redding in the second inning.
The Marlins are the second team in Major League history to boast three infielders with at least 30 in a season.
Ramirez on Saturday joined his teammates, first baseman Mike Jacobs (32) and second baseman Dan Uggla (30), at the benchmark.
The only other club to achieve the feat was the 2001 A’s with Eric Chavez (32), Jason Giambi (38) and Miguel Tejada (31).
Ramirez’s career-high 30th homer — he hit 29 last season — came a night after Jorge Cantu belted his 25th of the season. The Marlins now are the first team in MLB history to have four infielders reach at least 25.
In 2007, Ramirez connected on his 29th homer on Sept. 27 against the Cubs. But in the final three games, he was unable to reach 30. A year ago, Uggla had 31 homers and former Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera belted 34 homers.
“It’s a good feeling,” Ramirez said. “I missed it last year [by] one homer. I didn’t want it to happen again this year. I tried to take a deep breath, calm down and make good swings.”
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