Jose Ramirez is reaching a new level

Jose Ramirez is amazing. But you already knew that. You already knew that he is hustle personified, that he can never seem to keep his helmet on, and that he hits more extra-base hits than anything that seems humanly possible. Against the Detroit Tigers, he also proved that he might just be the American League’s Most Valuable Player.

He didn’t prove that over the course of only one game, mind you. But his effort in the Cleveland Indians’ 10-1 blowout of Detroit showed everything that he does well in one convenient package. If Jose wants to improve his MVP odds, he could just send a copy of this game footage to every voter with a note that says “this, but every day” and he’d win handily.

Jose’s first dinger of the day got out by the blonde hairs on his chinny chinny chin. The ball left his bat at 101.5 miles per hour, but hit the top of the outfield fence, bounced twice, and then bounced out of the open hand of Tigers left fielder Mikie Mahtook. The whole sequence was silly and great and I’m sure I’d hate it if the roles were reversed. But, as it is, enjoy the replay.

According to Statcast, everything was a-okay with Jose’s first home run. It wasn’t barreled, but it was nothing unexpected. The same can’t be said for his second dinger. That one went to right field, but it was hit at just 96.1 miles per hour with a less-than-ideal 41 degree launch angle for a hit probability of six percent. But Jose defied all odds like he has done his entire life and the ball ended up juuuuuust getting out over a glove and under a fence.

All five of Jose’s hits were of the extra-base variety, moving him to 75 extra-baggers on the season. That ties him with former Indians greats Travis Hafner and Earl Al Rosen on the list of most in a single season. The franchise record still belongs to Albert Belle, who had an incredible 103 extra-base hits in the strike-shortened 1995 season. For now.

Even more incredibly, Ramirez is one of only three Indians players with five extra-base hits in one game. He joins former Indians great Kelly Shoppach and some other guy.

Jose wasn’t the player doing franchise-busting things. Francisco Lindor blasted (and I mean blasted) his 26th home run of the season, passing Asdrubal Cabrera for the most dingers by a Tribe shortstop in a single season. He’s totally not a power hitter, but there’s a pretty damn good chance he’ll hit 30 this season, which would make him one of only five Indians batters to reach the milestone in the last decade. Three of the other four — Mike Napoli, Carlos Santana, and Edwin Encarnacion — have come in the last two seasons. The other is Grady Sizemore in 2008.

The Indians have now won 11 games in a row and they’re preparing for four-game series against another rebuilding team, the Chicago White Sox. The odds are against any team winning 15 games in a row, but. I’m a believer in anything the Indians want to do at this point.