Santiago Ramírez is a former professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 for the Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...

, appearing in four games. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Chunichi Dragons

Chunichi Dragons

The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...

 in 2007, appearing in 27 games.

Ramírez was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 in 1997. After spending the next two seasons playing baseball in the Dominican Republic, Ramírez made his minor league debut in 1999 with the Martinsville Astros

Martinsville Astros

The Martinsville Astros were a minor league baseball team located in Martinsville, Virginia. The team was affiliated with the Houston Astros and played in the Appalachian League. Their home stadium was Hooker Field....

, Houston's rookie-level minor league affiliate. He made 25 appearances as a relief pitcher

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 for Martinsville, winning two games and losing one with a 1.45 earned run average

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 (ERA) and 17 saves.

He became a free agent after the 2004 season, then spent one season in the Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

 organization before signing with the Nationals.

After being released by Washington on July 1, 2006, Ramírez joined the Dragons in 2007. After spending the 2008 season in the Mexican League with the Sultanes de Monterrey, he played for the Worcester Tornadoes

Worcester Tornadoes

The Worcester Tornadoes are a professional baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States. The Tornadoes are a member of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...

 of the independent Can-Am League in 2009, his last professional season.

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