Rami-Chan Sent Down to the Minors in Japan

Photo Credit Japanese Baseball Cards

I recently posted on Alex "Rami-Chan" Ramirez's accomplishment of being the first foreign player in Japan to reach the 2000 hits mark in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) in my blog post Rami-Chan First Foreign Player in NPB to Reach 2000 Hits dated April 9, 2013. After that post, Ramirez has been mired in a season long slump and was benched and eventually demoted.

According to the article Veteran Ramirez deactivated by BayStars from the Japan Times dated July 18, 2013:

The Yokohama BayStars sent down Alex Ramirez on Thursday with the 38-year-old outfielder hitting a paltry .185 with two homers this season.

It is the first time Ramirez has been demoted due to poor performance since arriving in Japan in 2001.

Ramirez became the first foreign-born player to reach a career 2,000 hits in April, but has struggled badly since, being relegated to pinch-hitting duties for the fourth-place BayStars.

He was hitless in his last 22 at-bats and has not homered since June 2.

Demotion for Ramirez means that he was sent down to the minor league affiliate of the BayStars. I'm not sure if this means his career in Japan is at an end but I have to say that it is not looking good for the two time back-to-back MVP of the Central League (2008 and 2009). Maybe he can regain his swing in the minors and make his way back up to the parent team.

I'll keep an eye out on it for you gals and guys.

Sisco Kid

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Alex Ramirez's career statistics from the English version of the NPB website