Cid Ramirez Rookie Spotlight

Toronto Bighorns rookie pitcher Cid Ramirez’s season ended the same way his draft declaration began: a playoff series loss where he disappeared under the pressure.

The highly-touted Colombian pitching prospect started off the season well, going 7-3 over his first few months and posting an ERA in the low 2s that had most clamoring for his name on the rookie of the year and Cy Young-equivalent awards. And this trend slowly unraveled as the season went on – with his May and June ERAs climbing to the mid-twos before exploding to 3.74 for August. He pitched similar numbers of innings in each and allowed a similar number of hits and runs per game, but he allowed more homers with each passing game in a pattern that frustrated both Ramirez and fans both.

“I don’t have a good word to describe how I feel,” Ramirez noted after the regular season ended, “There’s just a sinking gut feeling I have as the regular season ends and I don’t like it.”

In the same way the SBLM’s Las Vegas Centurions were sent home with a whimper, Ramirez crumbled in a 2-3 loss to the ____ and lost yet again after allowing two runs in the first inning of his second game. He failed to tally a single win in the post season and had an ERA of 4.97, nearly double that of his regular season, while allowing 7 runs in just 12.2 innings.

“Maybe it’s the rookie yips. I don’t know. But allowing 5 home runs in 12 innings is totally unacceptable and I will not be able to shake the definition of playoff choker until we win a championship. That’s my goal.”

“I cannot keep losing playoff games and be in the conversation for ‘good’ pitcher, let alone one of the league’s best.”