# Ramon Aviles
This is a classic card in my opinion. Whenever I look at it, I can just feel the game. The pitcher’s about to throw and the infielder is setting his stance so he can react as quick as possible to anything that happens next. His eyes concentrating at the batter. The focus, the stance, and the suspense of the quiet moments in baseball, all wrapped up into one picture of a man living out his dream.
Ramon Aviles only got to play in 117 major league games, but he had the privilege of playing three years for the Phillies, during a time when they won their first World Series and had players like Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Manny Trillo, and Steve Carlton. He even appeared in two post-season games for the Phils, drawing a walk in his only plate appearance in 1981 (NLDS vs Montreal), which turned out to be his final time at the plate in the major leagues.
He started 1982 playing for the Rangers AAA team in Denver before being traded back to Philadelphia, who kept him in their AAA club at Oklahoma City. Hitting .262 with a .331 OBP in the minors throughout that summer, didn’t get him back to the major leagues. 1983 was his final season in the MLB system.
Surprising Ramon Aviles facts & stats…
- Royals SS Mike Aviles, is Ramon’s nephew.
- Had .371 OBP in 1979.
- Very good hitter when there were 2 outs… .383 OBP
- .394 BA during the month of July.
- OBP of .436 with runners in scoring position
- Should’ve played for a team with a grass field, since he hit .404/.452/.509 on grass
