Aramis Ramirez, the Cub with the second-longest tenure on the team, wants to stay Cubbie Blue. Ramirez has been integral to the Cubs' success in recent years, and his willingness to stay on the North Side is nothing but good news for the Cub faithful.
After the 2006 season, Ramirez signed with the Cubs for five years, despite bigger offers from other teams.
Isn't that the exact type of player that fans want on their team? Never mind that he has unreal slugging percentage numbers, that his batting average hasn't dipped below .289 since he joined the team in 2003, or that he is a two-time All Star, Ramirez's willingness to take less money to stick with the team he cares about is incredibly admirable, especially when you consider what his contemporaries are doing.
Since that 2006 contract, Ramirez has helped the team to the playoffs twice, as he finished in the Top 15 for MVP voting. The Cubs have also broken franchise precedents of not being able to string together winning, playoff seasons. Ramirez has been key to the Cubs shedding the lovable losers tag.
At just 30 years old, Ramirez still has plenty of playing time in his future as a Cub. At the rate he is going, he may end up the best hitting third baseman in Cubs history. Yes, he needs to do better in the postseason, but it seems as if he will have many seasons as a Cub to improve on his play during the playoffs.
Maggie Hendricks is a lifelong Chicagoan who has loved sports since she fell in love with Jody Davis at age three. She also writes for Cage Writer, Yahoo! Sports' MMA blog, and Fourth-Place Medal, Yahoo! Sports' Olympic blog.
