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PERSONAL:
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- Playing for the Cuban national team, Ramirez received a monthly salary of $20.
- Alexei says his hero as a youth was Omar Linares. Also born in Pinar del Rio, Linares is considered one of the greatest Cuban players of all time.
- Best advice someone ever gave him: "Always be respectful," Ramirez said.
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In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, where Cuba finished second to Japan, Alexei had 6 hits in 16 at-bats. He also played for Pinar Del Rio in Cuba, the same team for which White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras once suited up, Ramirez hit .332 with 87 home runs and 391 RBIs over seven seasons.
In 2007, he was the home run leader in the Cuban baseball league during the season but defected from the island in November to establish residence in the Dominican Republic.
"I always dreamt of playing with the best. When I got the opportunity at the World Baseball Classic, I told myself that I had to make an effort to play in the same league as them," Ramírez told ESPNdeportes.com.
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Ramírez arrived in Santo Domingo with a visa to visit his wife Mildrid, who is Dominican, and is where she attended medical school. The couple has two small children, Alexei, Jr., and Alexia. Alexei said he decided to leave Cuba after visiting his wife's family in the Dominican but said: "I don't consider myself a deserter. I did this to be with my family."
At the time Ramirez told Reuters: "The dream of every player is to get to the Major Leagues, and I want to be part of the world's best league too."
- In April 2008, Alexei, a native of Cuba, couldn't accompany his White Sox teammates to Toronto because of visa issues, missing a four-game series.
- In 2008, Ramirez finished second to Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
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Alexei is changing what U.S. baseball fans perceive of what baseball is like in Cuba.
"There are a lot of misperceptions,'' he explained through interpreter Lou Hernandez. ''There is no pressure to play [in Cuba]; there are no guns pointed at you. There is just pure love of wanting to play the game by Cuban baseball players.
''The difference between Cuban ballplayers and players from the United States is players here play because that's their job. Cuban ballplayers play because of the encouragement from the province they're from, the town they're from, the region they're from. There is a sincere pride and passion for playing for your province. But no pressure.''
Standout Cuban players earn a level of recognition in their country that Derek Jeter and David Wright never could imagine. To the young Cuban player, baseball is still pure sport. It's untainted by cash bonuses, and the pride Cuban players feel by playing for their country doesn't have a price tag on it.
Ramirez played for Cuba in the 2004 Olympics and in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. But Cuba isn't a big island, so it only could hold so many dreams for him.
''My dream was to always play for the Cuban national team, and I achieved that dream,'' Ramirez said. ''Then the Olympic Games, and I achieved that. That was a dream of mine, too. Then to play in the World Baseball Classic with the Cuban national team. Again, another great experience.''
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March 2012: From time to time, Alexei logs on to his computer and takes a quick trip over to eBay. His search is for a gold medal from the 2004 Summer Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece. That particular medal belongs to Ramirez as part of Cuba's champion baseball squad.
His gold medal disappeared sometime during his travels from the Dominican Republic to Miami to Chicago, after departing Cuba and signing with the White Sox prior to the 2008 season. It had been placed in a special case with approximately 15 other medals won during Ramirez's competitive days in his homeland.
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Alexei has a strong bond with fellow-Cuban Jose Contreras, a long-time star pitcher in both Cuba and the United States. In fact, Contreras walked Ramirez's wife, Mildred, down the aisle this past offseason when Ramirez and his bride were officially married in the United States.
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Ramirez likes to spend time with his family, when he can. (He says he doesn't really have any hobbies.) When he's through playing, he says, "I will be with my family and teach my kids."
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Favorite movie: The Mask; Favorite actor: Morgan Freeman; Favorite TV show: Programs on Telemundo; Favorite music (and food): Cuban; Person he'd like to meet: Luis Tiant; Favorite non-baseball team: Miami Heat
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In 2012 and 2013, Alexei was driving a Porsche.
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Ramirez has been blessed with endless good fortune throughout his life. He has a loving wife, Mildred, and three healthy and happy children. But for five years of his life, Ramirez was unable to see his father, Armando, or his mother, Edith. He could talk to them by phone while they remained in Cuba, but it wasn't the same as having them nearby for comfort and support.
With both of them arriving in Chicago in June 2012, life changed for Ramirez. On Edith's birthday—April 25—the family was able to celebrate together.
When Ramirez's parents made their way to the U.S. in 2012, Ramirez was on a road trip with the White Sox in New York. He received a phone call stating that his parents would be waiting for him when he got back, but when we arrived at his Chicago home, Ramirez couldn't bring himself to get out of the car to go in and see his Mom.
"I sat in the car, and I got out of the car, and I got back in the car, and I got out of the car," Ramirez said. "I spent an hour just going [back and forth]. ... I didn't know how to do it, how it was going to be seeing my Mom again. I finally said, 'I need to walk in and to see my Mom,' and it was one of the greatest feelings I've ever had in my life.
Asked for the greatest single influence his Mom has had, Ramirez smiled and said, "Educacion."
That easily translates into "education," but Ramirez explained how the word carries a bit of an extended meaning in Spanish.
"Once when I was a kid, I saw a baseball and I really liked the baseball, and I took it home with me. Someone left it behind. So I took it home, because I really wanted it," Ramirez said. "She asked me where [I got] the baseball, and I said, 'I found it. Someone left it on the field.' She made me go back and return the baseball. That type of upbringing and manners, it's the most important thing she ever taught me."
Ramirez's Mom never really wanted her son to be a baseball player. He had great grades growing up, so she envisioned him going on to higher education and becoming a doctor.
"When I came to her and said, 'Look, I have a special scholarship to go to a baseball academy in Cuba and I'm going to go,' she was like, 'No, no. Your grades are too good. I want you to study. I want you to study,'" Ramirez said. "We convinced her that this is the right thing. Now she sees the hard work paid off."
Edith was on the field in 2012 when her husband threw out a first pitch at U.S. Cellular Field, and they live with Ramirez and his family in both Miami and Chicago. There's also the increased interaction with Ramirez's three children, which evokes a happy but emotional response from the shortstop.
"Sometimes when she's not looking, I tear up, because I remember being a kid and her giving me a bath and getting me ready for school and giving me breakfast," Ramirez said. "She loves playing with them. And they love playing with her." (Scott Merkin-MLB.com-5/09/13)
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Alexei's nickname, given to him by former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén, is "The Cuban Missile" due to his tall, slim physique and combination of speed, power, and strong throwing arm.
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July 25, 2015: White Sox manager Robin Ventura did not go into detail about a private meeting with Ramirez. But based on Ramirez's turnaround both with the bat and his great defense, what was said to the shortstop seemed to resonate.
"There won't be specifics, but sometimes life is tough," said Ventura. "There are things that go on with guys, you don't really want to let it out. You have to live through, play through. Baseball is an everyday game and it's hard sometimes to block some stuff out. You need to go out and play to your capability. There have been times when he's been a better player than other times.
"A lot of stuff has cleared up for him and he's able to focus on the field," Ventura said. "He is pretty quiet. He likes to internalize stuff. You find a way to get it out of him. Sometimes you can ask a guy and they're not going to necessarily give it to you. It's a game that has to be played every day and sometimes you can get through it and sometimes you can't. He's fought through it and right now he's the guy that we know that he is when he goes out there and plays." (S Merkin - MLB.com - July 26, 2015).
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September 2015: This upcoming offseason is an important one for Alexei Ramirez. The soon-to-be 34-year-old was his eighth season for the White Sox and is approaching free agency. The White Sox hold a $10 million option on their incumbent -- who stands behind only John Danks in organization seniority -- with a $1 million buyout.
But that contractual status falls a distant second to Ramirez having the first chance in almost a decade to return to his homeland of Cuba. A Cuban law prevents anyone who left from coming back for eight years, per Ramirez, but that time period has expired for the veteran shortstop.
"I've been thinking about going back since the first moment, since the moment I left the island," said Ramirez, through interpreter and White Sox Spanish-language broadcaster Billy Russo. "And I think that this year I'm going to have the opportunity to come back. Yes, I want to spend some time with my family. I want to be there with the people that I love and with the people where I grew up."
His parents, Armando and Edith, came from Cuba to the United States in 2012. Before that point, all but the youngest of Ramirez's children, who was born this year, had been able to visit their grandparents. Going back to Cuba before this eight-year-period came to an end stood as an uncertainty for Ramirez. He didn't want to try because such an endeavor was under control of the Cuban government. There's no fear for Ramirez or his family returning during the offseason, other than the specter of uncertainty.
"You know, I really don't know what to expect," Ramirez said. "It has been eight years since I left the island. I don't know if the people are still going to be the same. I guess, but I don't know. I'm very excited and we'll see what happens." (Scott Merkin / MLB.com /2015 )
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White Sox general manager Rick Hahn shared a tale of Alexei's rookie year in 2008.
"When we had [Ramirez's] debut in Cleveland, his Major League debut, he pregamed with two Krispy Kreme doughnuts with mayonnaise in between," a smiling Hahn said. "He put them together and enjoyed that for his pregame meal." (Merkin - mlb.com - 4/3/17)
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Alexei’s last Major League contest was a four-hit effort for the Rays in Texas on Oct. 2, 2016. It was not a bad way to close out a solid nine-year career for the shortstop who turns 39 in September 2020.
But Ramirez has made it clear he still wants to play. He stated definitively in English on this particular topic, “Alexei Ramirez is ready today, right now.”
“I’ve been working out to stay in shape, trying to see if I [can] get another opportunity to play baseball in the Major Leagues,” said Ramirez through Russo. “I’m not happy with the way I left the game, because I know that I can do more. I just want to leave the game of baseball on my own and the way that I wanted.
“I know teams right now are looking for younger players and that’s probably going to be a little tough for me to have another chance. But I’m just getting ready and I really, really hope to have that chance.
“Hopefully, and that will be a dream come true, I can do that with the White Sox,” Ramirez said. “But if not, whatever team I will be open to do it, because I still feel I have more in the tank and I can do more. Right now, it’s just waiting and seeing what happens and seeing if there’s another opportunity.” (Merkin - mlb.com - 5/26/2020)
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MLB.com: You were known for excellent work at shortstop. But what was it like to make your 2008 debut in center field in Cleveland?
Alexei Ramirez: It was a nice story. I remember I was in the Dominican Republic and I had a conversation with my agent, and Ozzie Guillen was the manager at that time, and Ozzie asked me, you know how he is. He asked me directly ‘Hey, what position do you play?’ And I told him shortstop. And he said ‘No. Shortstop, no. We have [Orlando] Cabrera there. Pick another position.’ I said, ‘Well center field.’
I said center field because that was a position I used to play in Cuba and then he said, ‘Yeah, OK. You are going to play there.’ But when the season started and throughout the season, [Juan] Uribe had an injury at second base and then that opened the possibility for me to play that position and that was nice having the experience. I told Ozzie during that conversation what mattered to me was just to play baseball. It doesn’t matter what position I was playing.
MLB.com: Did you like the “Cuban Missile” nickname given to you by Ozzie?
Ramirez: Yes, of course! I liked that nickname because I think he put it on me for the combination of tools I had: my speed, my ability to hit for power and average. I felt very blessed to have the chance to play for a Latino manager like him and to be able to build that relationship.
He was like a brother, like a father, like a mentor for me. I was just glad for that. I know that not too many Latino players have someone like him when they are starting their career. I was very fortunate to have him as a manager. (Merkin - mlb.com - 5/26/2020)
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WBC- 2026: Yes, it’s that Alexei Ramirez, the former White Sox shortstop who hasn’t played a big-league game since 2016. Ramirez actually played in the first World Baseball Classic in 2006, helping Cuba to its lone WBC finals appearance by going 6-for-16 with two doubles and two RBIs.
Twenty years later, Ramirez is back -- though he’ll be playing first base this time around. The oldest player in the Classic at 44 years old, he looked good in the Cuban National Series this past year, posting a 1.041 OPS and hitting 14 home runs. (Clair - Feb 17, 2026 - MLB)
TRANSACTIONS
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December 21, 2007: Alexei signed a four-year contract with the White Sox, worth as much as $8 million a year with the incentives. (It has a base of $4.75 million. Ramirez was 26 years old when he signed.)
Ramirez caught White Sox G.M. Kenny Williams' eye when he played centerfield for Cuba in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He paid attention when he led Cuba's top league with 20 home runs while hitting .338 in 2007. Williams pursued him aggressively after he defected during a visit to the Dominican Republic, where his wife, Mildred, has residency.
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January 31, 2011: Ramirez and the White Sox agreed on a four-year, $32.5 million contract, with a $10 million option for a fifth year.
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November, 2015: Alexi elected free agency
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January 22, 2016: The Padres signed free agent Ramirez to a one-year contract. Alexi will make $3 million in 2016 with an option for 2017 at $4 million. There is a $1 million buyout.
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September 4, 2016: The Padres paid the $1 million buyout and released Alexi.
- September 8, 2016: The Rays signed free agent Ramirez.
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