The Pitching Panacea! Former MLB Star Hired to Cure Minor League Pitchers Ails
Eight-year major league veteran Horacio Ramirez was named as the pitching coach for the minor league Rome Emperors this week. The Emperors are the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
The 45-year-old Ramirez was drafted in the fifth round of the 1997 draft out of the California high school ranks and proceeded to pitch for the Braves, Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels. He went 40-35 in his career with a 4.65 ERA, winning a career-high 12 games for the Braves in 2003. He also won double-digit games for Atlanta in 2005 (11). He was traded to the Mariners before the 2007 season in a deal that sent high-powered reliever Rafael Soriano to Atlanta.
Ramirez spent part of his minor league career playing in Rome for the Rome Braves. He’s joined on the staff by manager Angel Flores, and hitting coach Connor Justus.
The Braves are coming off a season at the major league level that saw them finish second in the National League East. They advanced to the wild card round of the playoffs before losing to the San Diego Padres, but they figure to be strong again this year as they return a healthy Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley. Furthermore, Spencer Strider and former MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. will be back healthy sometime in the first half of the season.
The Braves have officially reported to spring training and as players are re-assigned to minor league camp, we’ll start to get a better idea of what Rome’s roster will look like.
