Jairo Ramos Gizzi

Jairo Rafael Ramos Gizzi

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 9", Weight 160-195 lb.

• Born July 21, 1971 in La Guaira, Vargas Venezuela

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Jairo Ramos Gizzi has had a long career in Italian baseball.

Ramos began his career with the 1991 Medicine Hat Blue Jays, hitting .267/~.315/.328; one of his outfield mates was Stoney Briggs, who would also be in baseball for many years.

Jairo next surfaced in 1998 with Grosseto in Italy's Serie A1, batting .427/.460/.744 with 23 RBI and 22 runs in 18 games. That led to full-time duty with Grosseto in '99, when he hit .351/.390/.517 with 15 doubles, 46 RBI in 45 games and 11 steals in 13 tries. He tied Massimo Fochi and Ed Campaniello for second in RBI, behind David Sheldon.

In 2000, Ramos Gizzi batted .312/.378/.426 for Grosseto. He had a big year in 2001, producing at a .337/.387/.620 rate with 15 home runs, 40 runs and 54 RBI in 54 contests. He led the league in home runs, was third in RBI and was second in slugging.

Jairo debuted for the Italian national team that year. In the 2001 European Championship, he batted .381/.435/.571 with 6 RBI in 7 games. He was in the top 10 in both slugging and average and was named the tournament's All-Star first baseman.

In 2002, the Venezuelan native hit .363/.427/.521 with 51 RBI in 54 games. He was second in RBI behind Claudio Liverziani, finished 6th in average, 5th in slugging and tied for 8th in OBP. For the 2003 campaign, the veteran batted .302/.383/.477 with 45 RBI in 50 games. He tied for 8th in the circuit in RBI. In the 2003 European Championship, he struggled, going 2 for 20 with 4 walks, a double, a run and 3 RBI.

Ramos hit .364/.435/.515 with 46 runs in 53 games in 2004; after many years of losing in the semifinals, Grosseto won a title. He was 7th in the league in runs, 4th in average, was 5th in slugging, tied for the lead in doubles and was 6th in OBP.

For the 2004 Olympics, Ramos Gizzi and Liverziani alternated between first base and DH; Jairo hit .261/.346/.565 with 5 runs and 4 RBI in 7 games, leading Italy's starters in OPS.

In the 2005 Serie A1, the 34-year-old batted .333/.404/.462 to finish 4th in both average and slugging. In the 2005 European Championship, his 15 hits finished second to Germany's Simon Gühring and he made the All-Star team again, helping Italy win a Silver Medal. He hit .455/.500/.576. Among those he beat out for All-Star honors who also posted fine tournaments were Ian Young, Alexander Lauterbach and Percy Isenia.

Ramos got one at-bat in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, grounding out against Jorge Sosa as a pinch-hitter. In the 2006 Italian season, the old-timer hit .288/.411/.417, drawing 31 walks in 41 games. He was 8th in OBP and third in walks.

In 2007, Ramos hit .284/.345/.321 with just 3 extra-base hits in 134 AB. He saved his best for the postseason, slugging .789 in the semifinals with two homers, then going 10 for 28 in the finals with 2 home runs.

He rebounded in 2008, when his batting line finished at .342/.456/.555. His 32 walks tied Liverziani and Willie Vasquez for 4th in the circuit and his 7 home runs tied for third. He was sixth in average, 5th in slugging and 6th in OBP. He drove home 40, second to Richard Austin. In the 2008 European Cup in Grosseto, Ramos was 1 for 12 with a walk, run and a RBI.

Ramos hit .283/.325/.428 in 2009, his lowest average and OBP since coming to Italy. He still made Italy's roster for the 2009 Baseball World Cup.

Olympics-Reference page