Wilson Abraham Ramos Campos (born August 10, 1987), nicknamed "the Buffalo", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher.
He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers, and Cleveland Indians as well as for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
When 2008 Florida State League All-Star catcher James Skelton of the Lakeland Flying Tigers suffered an injury, Ramos was added to the West Division All-Star team, joining teammates Rob Delaney, Brian Dinkelman, Jeff Manship, Anthony Slama and Danny Valencia.
[3] He broke his right index finger in May and suffered a hamstring injury in June, forcing him to do a nearly two-month rehab assignment, during which he hit three home runs in five games with the Gulf Coast League Twins.
However, with Joe Mauer behind the plate, the Twins sent Ramos to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings rather than have him serve in a back-up role in the majors.
[4] Ramos received his first major league call-up on May 1, when Mauer was sidelined by a bruised left heel and was limited to emergency pinch hitting.
[5] Ramos took the roster spot of Pat Neshek, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 29 with inflammation of the middle finger on his right hand.
[6] On May 2, facing the Cleveland Indians, Ramos slapped a single between third base and the shortstop in the top of the second inning for his first major league hit.
On May 13, with Mauer ready to return to action, and José Morales coming off the DL, Ramos was reassigned to Rochester.
[citation needed] On July 29, 2010, Ramos was traded to the Washington Nationals along with Joe Testa for closer Matt Capps.
[9] On May 12, 2012, Ramos tore an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee while trying to field a passed ball in a game against the Cincinnati Reds.
However, on April 13, Ramos hurt his hamstring while trying to beat out a ground ball, putting him on the disabled list, with Jhonatan Solano replacing him and Suzuki started.
[citation needed] On January 13, 2016, he and the Nationals agreed to a one-year, $5.35 million deal to avoid salary arbitration.
[19] Despite his slightly shortened season, Ramos won the Silver Slugger for National League catchers.
Despite leaving the Nationals following the 2016 season, Ramos has said he looks back on his time with the team as a period of "great moments," including his first career walk-off home run (off Seattle Mariners pitcher David Pauley) on June 21, 2011.
[39] On August 29, Ramos suffered his third career ACL tear along with an MCL sprain, which effectively ended his 2021 season.
[46] While in Valencia, Venezuela on November 9, 2011, at approximately 6:45 pm local time, Ramos was kidnapped at gunpoint from his mother's home.
According to his account four gunmen threw Ramos into the back of a Chevrolet Captiva and drove him to a mountainous region near the town of Montalban, Venezuela.
[47] Originally back in his homeland to play during the offseason for his Venezuelan team, Tigres de Aragua, Ramos was rescued on November 12, 2011.
A declassified Department of State cable, obtained by The National Security Archive through a Freedom of Information Act request, shows that Venezuela's Corps of Scientific, Penal, Criminal Investigative Corps (CICPC) "already had the abductors under investigation prior to Ramos's kidnapping because the group had kidnapped other individuals in the same area of Valencia.
According to the declassified State Department cable, the exchange of gunfire was an intentional CICPC technique used to create a "diversion to disorient the abductors during the raid.