Ramos led the AL in losses four straight years, 1958-61, as the Senators finished last in 1958-59 and below .500 all four years. The Cuban also led in starts in ’58 and ’60, and set a since-broken AL record by surrendering 43 homers. The Washington franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961, and the Twins traded Ramos for Vic Power and Dick Stigman after that season; he went 10-12 on sixth-place Cleveland as the Twins climbed to third.
Switching to relief partway through 1964, he finally played for a winner when the Yankees picked him up on September 5 for their tough pennant drive, surrendering Ralph Terry, Bud Daley, and $75,000. He proved well worth the cost, going 1-0 with a 1.25 ERA and saving eight games down the stretch. He was their bullpen stopper for the next two seasons, with 19 saves in 1965 and 13 in 1966, but the Yankees collapsed, finishing last in ’66. After a stint in the NL, Ramos returned to Washington for his final season, playing for the franchise that had replaced the original Senators in the 1961 expansion.
Ramos was known for more than just his pitching. He hit 15 HR lifetime, tied for 20th among pitchers, and even hit a grand slam off Baltimore’s Chuck Estrada on May 30, 1962. He also hit two in one game on July 31, 1963; in the sixth inning, his homer was the second of four straight by the Indians, the first AL team ever to accomplish that feat. He was also used frequently as a pinch runner, around ten times a season when he was with the Senators, and insisted that he was the fastest runner in the majors. He repeatedly challenged Mickey Mantle to a footrace in his attempt to prove his claim but was never granted the match. His switch to relief ended his pinch-running career.
