Heliot Ramos has helped the Giants enter Tuesday’s 3:40 p.m. PT duel with the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park riding a four-game win streak due to his impressive bat and good-spirited energy.
However, the 24-year-old had to grind for his time in the majors, as he has been called up twice before by San Francisco, with neither stint leading to any long-term role with the big-league club.
Still, in talking to KNBR’s "Murph and Markus" on Tuesday, Ramos discussed his previous MLB call-ups, expressing gratitude for the opportunities -- even without them leading to a permanent role -- and cited what made his initial major-league time special.
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“My memory is when I first got called up, honestly,” Ramos told Brian Murphy and Markus Boucher. “Like, it was a dream come true, for sure -- the Giants made that happen. Of course, I wanted to stay longer, but I was grateful at the same time, you know what I mean? It doesn’t happen every day for everybody. I was super grateful that that happened to me.
“My dream came true for sure.”
San Francisco brought Ramos’ “dream” to life by calling him up in April 2022, but he only saw 22 plate appearances in nine games. He finished with two hits and a .100 batting average.
Ramos saw more action in 2023 -- earning 60 plate appearances in 25 games -- but the extended leash still led to nothing. He closed last season with 10 hits, two RBI a home run and a .179 batting average.
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The 2024 MLB season is where the outfielder has found his stride. In 11 games since being summoned, Ramos has slashed .293/.341/.439 with 12 hits, eight RBI and one home run.
He credits his devotion and family support for his promising stint this season.
“[My] mentality, how positive I was, the work I’ve been putting in in the offseason and my family -- they gave me their support and were always like, ‘Keep your head up, keep grinding, keep playing baseball and good things will happen,” Ramos said when describing what makes this call-up different than the previous two. “I just want to keep it going, if that makes sense. Just try to stay in the routine, you know?”
Ramos has helped keep the Giants -- who recently lost outfielder Jung Hoo Lee for the year -- afloat alongside other young studs Luis Matos and Marco Luciano.
While already fulfilling his dream of playing in the majors, surely Ramos wants to keep his stellar play going and the Giants’ wins stacking.