In a piece of news that somewhat flew under the radar last week, former Washington Nationals' catcher and fan favorite player Wilson Ramos has officially retired from baseball. He joins a list of former Nationals that have officially retired this offseason including Jake Alu, Corey Dickerson, and Ehire Adrianza. Let's take a look back at his career and his days with the Nationals.
The story of Wilson Ramos and his professional career is one that included many peaks and valleys. Although Wilson Ramos' playing days in MLB ended back in 2021, he was still playing professional baseball in Venezuela with the Bravos de Margarita in 2024, but finally called it a career at age 37.
To tell the true tale on the career of Wilson Ramos, we have to back up to his days on the Minnesota Twins, where he signed as a free agent in 2004. He would peak as a Top 100 Prospect in 2009 while in their organization, and got his first cup of coffee in the big leagues in that same season, as his path to consistent playing time at the highest level was blocked by Hall-of-Famer Joe Mauer.
On July 29, 2010, the Washington Nationals would trade closer Matt Capps to the Twins for Ramos and Joe Testa, and he would get his first taste of big league ball with the Nationals in 2010. In 2011, he would win the starting job behind the dish and would finish 4th in NL Rookie of the Year voting, setting the stage for a very successful tenure in Washington that would end up being the best years of his career.
Following that 2011 season, Ramos would be kidnapped in his native Venezuela from his mother's home, where he was captured at gunpoint and was held in captivity for over 50 hours. It was a major news story at the time, as the US media was not quite sure of the details regarding the kidnapping, although he was rescued after what must have felt like a true nightmare, as the CICPC exchanged gunfire with the kidnappers and arrested multiple members of the kidnapping group. Ramos said he felt like he had been "born again," and he certainly played like it throughout the remainder of his days in the big leagues.
Ramos would spend 7 seasons in the Nation's Capital from 2010-2016, peaking in his final season with the club when he accumulated a .307/.354/.496 slash line with an .850 OPS, and would bring home his first ever Silver Slugger award to go with his first ever All-Star appearance and a 17th place finish in NL MVP voting. He had a .743 OPS over his career with the Nationals, and was consistently regarded as one of the best offensive catchers in baseball while being criminally underrated during his tenure.
Some of Ramos' best memories in DC would include being on the receiving end of both of Max Scherzer's no-hitters in the 2015 season, as well as Jordan Zimmermann's no-hitter in Game 162 of the 2014 season. Additionally, he also caught Scherzer's famous 20-strikeout game against the Detroit Tigers as well in 2016.
The Nationals would let him walk after the 2016 season, but a torn ACL suffered late in that season significantly lowered his value as he entered free agency for the first time. He would ink a 2-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, and he would make his 2nd and final All-Star team with the Rays in the 2018 season. He would bounce around for the remainder of his career, spending time with a couple of NL East rivals in the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, as well as the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians.
He would play 12 games for Acereros de Monclova in the Mexican League in 2023, then would sign the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League Professional baseball, where he would play 40 games to end that 2023 season. He would then finish up with the Bravos de Margarita in 2024 before officially retiring this past week. While Ramos won't be a Hall-of-Famer, he had a great career and was truly regarded as a fan favorite during his tenure in DC, and all of us Nationals fans can look back upon his time in the Nation's Capital very favorably.
What is your favorite Wilson Ramos memory? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.