Cubs of Yore: Domingo Ramos

Hey-o, hey-o, hey-o, hey-ooooo! Don't worry, we haven't left you. It's me, The Hundley, here, one of the few bartenders not currently attending the wedding of fellow barkeep, Brant Brown. As the self-appointed "leader" of the remaining B-Team, I've (temporarily) put Rygar on pause, set down the Mt. Dew and the Cheetos, and put on my tending apron to keep ya'll enlightened. Recently, our beloved Cubs have inexplicably signed ex-White Sox, Shingo Takatsu to a minor league deal. The only fathomable reason is for him to rejoin his ex-teammate, Neal Cotts, in the minors , where they can keep each other company and talk about the 'Good Old Days' of when they (their teammates) won a World Series. I can't believe Shingo Time didn't make the list of the top free agents this offseason. That Hendry sure can pick the sleepers!

In the meantime, take a trip down memory lane...


Nickname: Sunday Branch, DoRam

Played for The Cub: 1989-90

Random Write-up: It's funny, but I always remember him being a lot heavier than the baseball card shows him. I have no idea why I always think of him in a Cub uniform, it was probably because my dad pronounced his name with an extremely exaggerated Mexican accent, which would cause my brother and I to have pop shoot through our noses. And yes, this was in the days that pop came in a glass bottle, sonny. Little did I know that life would never be better...but I digress. Domingo Ramos was certainly not known for his power. In 12 big league seasons, he hit a mere 8 dongs and had a career slugging percentage of .297. Needless to say, he made his living as a "defensive replacement". Had a very respectable .955 fielding percentage as a lifetime infielder. He played most of his career in Seattle, which would explain his career high 3 steals in 1983, most likely attributed to the caffeine-heavy house blends at Starbucks. With his gaudy career numbers, he inexplicably fleeced the Cub for $310,000 in 1990.

What the hell?: He was once involved with Lloyd McClendon and Vance Law in a triple play against the Expos.

Rangers scouting director Joe Klein almost cried the night he heard Righetti had been swapped as part of a nine-player trade. What made the deal worse was that the Rangers were supposed to get back one of the jewels of the Yankees' farm system, second baseman Damaso Garcia. Corbett had been instructed to demand Garcia be included in the deal but got confused and asked for Domingo Ramos instead. "Brad!" he was told after the trade. "You were supposed to get Garcia." Legend has it that Corbett hung his head and apologized, saying: "Hell's bells. All those Latin names sound alike." (source) cannot verify

Also of Note: Career (estimated) earnings of $605,000. Was born in The Dominican Republic. Hit below the Medoza Line five times during his career. You can view all of Domingo's jerseys at Dressed to the Nines. I made up the nickname "Sunday Branch" because it's a literal translation from Spanish to English. Actually "DoRam" is made up as well. Let's be honest, he wasn't good enough to have a nickname.