Wilson Ramos took some ribbing in his offseason workouts after he signed with the Tigers to call spacious Comerica Park his home.
“I was jogging a little bit with the guys working out with me and they said, ‘Hey, now you will get a couple triples in your career if you hit the ball in that gap,’” Ramos said in February. “And I said, ‘I’m good with doubles.’”
A week and a half into the season, Ramos is happier with scenic round trips around the bases. And as the Tigers look for offense with Miguel Cabrera on the injured list, and after being swept out of Cleveland with a 5-2 loss Sunday, they might lean on Ramos.
Twice in three games at Progressive Field, Ramos hit tape-measure home runs to center field. Sunday’s drive off Nick Wittgren went 407 feet to right-center, two days after his 443-foot homer sailed into the trees beyond straightaway center.
Add in the drives to Comerica Park’s left-field corner Monday and Wednesday against the Twins, and Ramos has homered in four of his last five games. He’s the first Tiger to homer in three consecutive games since Jonathan Schoop did it last July, and the first Tigers catcher to do so since Alex Avila in 2017.
In the process, Ramos is filling a glaring offensive void in the Tigers lineup. Detroit catchers combined for five home runs in 2020 — two from Austin Romine and three from Grayson Greiner. Ramos is one away from tying that mark less than two weeks into the season. Even without this pace, he could become the first Tigers catcher with double-digit homers in a season since Avila and James McCann hit 11 and 13, respectively, in 2017.