Guardians notes: Jose Ramirez is the unquestionable leader of the young Guardians

NEW YORK — The Guardians have gotten contributions from multiple players to get to where they're at today, but there's one guy who stands above the rest on the list. Cleveland's team full of rookies and inexperienced players had an unquestionable leader throughout an improbable Central Division title run in All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez. "There's a lot of guys that made some names for themselves this year, which is awesome, but it's clear as day who the MVP of this team is," catcher Austin Hedges said of Ramirez, who put up another All-Star season this year, batting .280 with 29 home runs and 126 RBIs. "When that guy's hitting three-hole for ya, playing third base every day, on the base paths, in the clubhouse, everything he does, he's our energy, he's our MVP and we ride with him. The cool thing is, with how good of a teammate he is. When he doesn't do it, he inspires his teammates to pick him up." "He's definitely the guy on every team that they're telling their pitchers you can't let this guy beat you and he does it day in and day out," left fielder Steven Kwan said. "That's a testament to him, really smart and obviously figuring out a way to hit those pitches. There's a reason he's one of the best in the game." The Guardians have displayed a never-say-die approach with plenty of late-game heroics throughout the season — 13-6 in extra innings and a 36-19 record in games decided in the seventh inning of later. Ramirez was the catalyst on numerous occasions. When he comes to the plate in a big situation, his teammates expect him to deliver — more often than not he does. "I feel like we feel that every single time," Kwan said of Ramirez's at-bats. "He's so dang good every time — he's hitting a double, he's working a count, a for-sure single that turns into a double, he's always going to do something special." Like in the wild card series against Tampa Bay, when Ramirez delivered a game-winning homer in a 2-1 Game 1 victory. "I don't think there is anything that doesn't impress me about what he's done," manager Terry Francona said. "I've tried to say it different ways, because I get why people want to know. But he checks every box — every box. And even with his limited English, he transcends and he can touch everybody in the clubhouse, and in a good way." Hedges knew he was about to witness something special when he was traded to Cleveland after catching for the Padres during an interleague game against Ramirez and the Guardians in 2017. "I remember the only game I ever got to catch against him and I remember our pitching coach was great at scouting and he said, 'This is the first guy that I've ever seen that I don't know what to throw to him, so just go be random,"' Hedges said. "That's pretty impressive." Ramirez became a team leader from Day 1 this year after taking less money to sign a long-term contract with Cleveland, rather than testing the free-agent market, which undoubtedly would have brought him a heftier salary. "It was definitely inspiring," Kwan said. "I'm just grateful I got to be a part of seeing the whole signing thing, seeing all the media coming around, seeing his journey through this whole thing. "Having that leader at the top and knowing he's going to be there for a while gives more credibility to what he does on the field. When he's doing that first and third, getting the runner over, this is why the guy is having success, and this is why he's doing it. It easy for the guys to follow in his footsteps and that's the kind of culture we have right now." Power outage The Guardians heard all season long that they didn't hit enough home runs to compete in the homer happy American League. They weren't listening. "In terms of the home runs, we've done a really good job this year of keeping our head down and not listening to any of the noise," said Kwan. "I think looking at other teams, seeing their strategies, we would be going against that strategy. So we're just trying to keep our head down and just keep rolling." Cleveland ranked second-to-last in the majors — in front of only Detroit — with 127 homers during the regular season. Meanwhile, the Yankees ranked first with 254 homers. They were the only team in baseball with over half (50.8 percent) of their runs coming via the long ball. New York, New York The last time the Guardians were at Yankee Stadium, fans were throwing trash on the field and getting in a shouting match with Cleveland center fielder Myles Straw during a series in April. But there are a couple members of Cleveland's organization who have fond memories of the Big Apple, especially Francona. Francona got to experience the most storied rivalry in baseball firsthand as manager of the Red Sox from 2004-11. "I do have good memories here," he said. "The All-Star Game here in '08, one of the most incredible things I've ever been a part of. I was standing behind home plate, and as they were introducing all these Hall of Famers (49 former players) at like every position, I remember sitting there thinking, "What am I doing here?' It was incredible. I was just really fortunate that I got to watch that because that will always stay with me." While growing up, Guardians Game 1 starter Cal Quantrill got to watch his father Paul — a former reliever for New York — pitch at old Yankee Stadium. "I have some pretty cool memories from when he was playing here," Quantrill said. "That was pretty much a Hall of Fame lineup that they were rolling out every day (in 2004-05). It was pretty cool. It was cool to play in Yankee Stadium and just get surrounded by a bunch of guys that were probably a couple years away from being inducted." Yankees manager and former Cleveland third baseman Aaron Boone expects his fans to rise to an elevated level for the postseason. "I feel like our crowd has been awesome this year," Boone said. "And especially with the way we started out the season and some of the walk-off wins we've had, and obviously the season Aaron's (Judge) had, that we've had some of those magical, regular-season games and environments. "That said, you know, the postseason here, I've heard people say it's a different animal. It is. It's something to behold and experience. And hopefully we can go out and perform the way we're capable of and give them lots of reason to be excited." Friendly fire Former Cleveland and New York players CC Sabathia and Nick Swisher took part in the Yankees' pregame ceremonies. Sabathia threw out the first pitch, and after the lights were turned out at Yankee Stadium, Swisher came out of the bullpen waving a Yankees flag under the spotlight. Sabathia began his career in Cleveland from 2001-08, spending his last 11 seasons in New York. Swisher, who was born in Columbus, played for the Yankees from 2009-12 before signing a free-agent contract with Cleveland in 2013 and spending parts of his last three years there. Roundin' third The Guardians' 0.89 ERA (one earned run in 24 innings) in the wild card series was their lowest over their first two postseason games in club history, and marked the seventh-lowest in MLB history (since 1901). Cleveland took a 15-inning scoreless streak into Game 1 of the ALDS on Tuesday. … Starting times for both games in Cleveland were announced Tuesday. First pitch for Game 3 is 7:30 p.m., while Game 4 on Saturday will begin at 7:07 p.m. If there is a Game 5 back in New York, it will be a 7:37 p.m. start Monday. … Thursday, Game 2 (7:37 p.m.), TBS; WEOL 930-AM and 100.3-FM, WTAM 1100-AM, WMMS 100.7-FM. Bieber (1-0, 1.17 ERA) vs. Cortes (0-0. 0.00). Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on Twitter.