CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Indians infielder Jose Ramirez finished third in the voting for the 2018 American League Most Valuable Player Award, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced on MLB Network Thursday night.
Ramirez tallied 208 points with one second-place and 10 third-place votes, which put him behind both Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts (28 first-place votes, 410 points), a first-time AL MVP Award winner, and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout (one first-place vote, 265 points).
Boston slugger J.D. Martinez got the lone remaining first-place vote.
Thursday’s announcement marked the second straight year in which Ramirez finished third in the AL MVP voting.
Despite a late-season slump, Ramirez belted a team-best 39 home runs to go along with top-three finishes with 105 RBI, 156 hits and 110 runs scored. Ramirez batted .270 with .387 on-base, .552 slugging and .939 on-base-plus-slugging percentages.
Of Ramirez’s 156 hits, 81 went for extra bases, as he had 38 doubles, four triples and 39 home runs. In addition to leading the Indians in home runs, triples and stolen bases (34), he ranked second on the team in double, runs batted in and runs scored.
For the second consecutive season, Ramirez was the starting third baseman for the American League All-Star team.
Ramirez entered the 2018 MLB All-Star Game with 29 home runs, which equaled his previous career-high set during the 2017 season and set a club record for round-trippers before the Mid-Summer Classic. Those 29 home runs came in concert with 26 doubles, two triples, 70 runs batted in, 68 runs scored and 109 hits in 358 at-bats.
Along with his .302 batting average, Ramirez had .401 on-base, .628 slugging and 1.029 on-base-plus-slugging percentages through 94 games for the eventual American League Central Division Champion Indians.
In addition to being a finalist for the AL MVP Award, Ramirez was a finalist for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award for the second consecutive season.
Despite moving to second base late in the season for the second straight year, Ramirez earned the nomination at third base with 94 putouts and 205 assists against 11 errors in 310 total chances. Ramirez combined on 21 double plays and had a .965 fielding percentage.
Ramirez had 24 putouts and 33 assists with five double plays turned against just three errors in 60 total chances over 142.0 innings of work in 16 games at second base.
