Manager Aaron Boone said Aaron Judge was “not quite ready,” which meant Heliot Ramos had to be.
Essentially stepping into the cleats of the 6-foot-7 superstar, who was held off the wild-card roster with a calf strain, was a 5-foot-11 trade-deadline pickup who was brought in to crush lefties and had done just that after a rough first few weeks to his Yankees tenure.
It was Ramos, and not Judge, who was hitting third against lefty Payton Tolle and playing right field as the first-round series against the Red Sox began in The Bronx on Tuesday.
Before the game, Ramos acknowledged that he cannot properly fill in for probably the best hitter on earth. And so he wasn’t going to try.
“At the end of the day, I’m me,” Ramos said, “and I know I’m ready for it, and I’m ready to go.”
There probably is not a Yankees player more upset to be unable to play than Judge.
There might not be a Yankees player more grateful to be playing playoff baseball than Ramos, who spent his first 4 ¹/₂ seasons with the Giants, never reaching October, and was thrilled to land with a team so popular in his home of Puerto Rico.
“Who would have thought I would have been here right now?” Ramos said. “It’s crazy that this is happening to me. It’s a blessing. A lot of guys take trades like to heart, kind of like in a bad way.
“But to me, obviously, it was a little bit of a change. But at the end of the day, the New York Yankees want me and I’m here to help. Honestly, I’m loving the experience. I’m loving where I’m at right now.”
The Yankees targeted Ramos not to replace Judge but to add a platoon bat with a strong track record of hitting lefty pitching. Among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances this season, Ramos’ .907 OPS against southpaws was the 23rd best in baseball (one spot behind Junior Caminero).
He did not start well with the Yankees, possibly because he was often facing righty pitching and playing every day with Judge sidelined (then because of his rib), but Ramos asserted himself once he saw lefties beginning at the end of August — and beginning when the Red Sox came to town.
In that series, Ramos launched his first Yankees homer (against Ranger Suarez) and reached base eight times in 12 plate appearances.
“When I faced Suarez and I took my first at-bat and it was a walk, I felt pretty good about it,” Ramos said about his Yankees turning point, which helped him earn trust that paid off Tuesday in starting the biggest game of his life. “I was, like, yeah, this is my time. I’m ready to go.”
