Horacio RamÃÂrez (born November 24, 1979) is a Mexican-American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and in the KBO League for the Kia Tigers.
The Atlanta Braves drafted RamÃÂrez in the fifth round of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft out of Inglewood High School in California. He made his debut in the majors for Atlanta in , when he finished the season 12âÂÂ4 with a 4.00 ERA in 29 starts. At the end of his rookie season, he was selected to the Baseball Digest All-Star Rookie team. He got off to an excellent start in , posting a 2âÂÂ4 with a 2.28 ERA in his first nine starts, before he suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on the disabled list on May 30. While initially thought to be a minor injury, RamÃÂrez was not activated until September 26.
In , RamÃÂrez finished with an 11âÂÂ9 record and 4.63 ERA in 33 games (32 starts), pitching over 200 innings for the only time in his career. He remained in the Braves' rotation in as the number 3 starter, going 5âÂÂ5 with a 4.48 ERA in 14 starts.
On December 6, 2006, the Braves traded RamÃÂrez to the Seattle Mariners for reliever Rafael Soriano. In his lone season with Seattle, RamÃÂrez posted a record of 8âÂÂ7 but had an ERA of 7.16 in 20 starts.
On March 12, , RamÃÂrez was released by the Mariners.
On May 21, 2008, RamÃÂrez signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals. He pitched in 15 games for the Royals out of the bullpen, going 1âÂÂ1 with a 2.59 ERA.
On August 9, 2008, RamÃÂrez was traded to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Paulo Orlando. In 17 relief appearances, he allowed 11 runs in 13 innings. He became a free agent following the season.
On December 11, 2008, RamÃÂrez signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals. His first start for the Royals was the last start of his MLB career, in which he allowed 6 runs in innings on April 11. In 18 bullpen appearances, he had a 4.43 ERA, one loss, and one blown save. On June 6, the Royals designated him for assignment.
On June 15, 2009, RamÃÂrez signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. He started 16 games for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, going 3âÂÂ7. He became a free agent on November 9.
On February 1, 2010, RamÃÂrez signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants. He made only three starts for the Triple-A Fresno Grizzles, spending four months on the disabled list. He became a free agent following the season on November 6.
On March 11, 2011, RamÃÂrez signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He began the season with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, where he earned the only 6 saves of his professional career. On July 20, the Angels purchased RamÃÂrez's contract. He was not effective as a reliever, going 1âÂÂ0 while allowing 6 runs and 16 hits in 9 innings in the final 12 games of his major league career. He became a free agent after the season.
On February 20, 2012, RamÃÂrez signed with Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization. He was released on June 5 after 10 relief appearances.
On June 15, 2012, RamÃÂrez signed with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In 12 games (6 starts) innings he went 2âÂÂ0 with a 1.96 ERA and 22 strikeouts.
On August 17, 2012, RamÃÂrez signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. He made three starts for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. He elected free agency after the season on November 2.
On May 11, 2013, RamÃÂrez signed again with the Lancaster Barnstormers. In 9 games (8 starts), he went 5âÂÂ1 with a 3.51 ERA and 35 strikeouts in innings.
On July 5, 2013, RamÃÂrez signed with the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League. In 6 starts (40 innings) he went 3âÂÂ2 with a 3.38 ERA and 24 strikeouts.
After pausing his playing career to coach in MLB, on March 5, 2016, RamÃÂrez began a professional comeback, signing with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. Starting 21 games for Tijuana, he had a 6âÂÂ4 record, 4.15 ERA, and 49 strikeouts in 102 innings pitched. In 2017, RamÃÂrez started 11 games, posting a 4âÂÂ3 record and 4.06 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 62 innings of work. He started 12 games, appearing in 16, for Tijuana the following year, recording a 3âÂÂ2 record, 3.94 ERA, and 28 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched. For the 2019 season, RamÃÂrez made 32 appearances for the Toros, pitching to a 4âÂÂ0 record and 2.60 ERA with 9 strikeouts in innings of work.
RamÃÂrez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the league's season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 8, 2021, RamÃÂrez re-signed with the Toros. He made 12 appearances (10 starts) for Tijuana in 2021, working to a 3âÂÂ3 record and 4.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. He did not play in a game for the team in 2022 and was released on January 19, 2023.
On January 18, 2013, RamÃÂrez was named to the Mexican national team's roster for that spring's World Baseball Classic (WBC). However, he did not pitch in the tournament.
RamÃÂrez pitched twice for Mexico in the 2019 WBSC Premier12 tournament, allowing 5 earned runs in innings as his team finished third.
In 2023, RamÃÂrez was announced as Mexico's bullpen coach for the 2023 WBC.
On March 10, 2014, the Atlanta Braves named RamÃÂrez as a coaching assistant. He was brought on to assist coaches with on-field duties prior to games and manage Atlanta's instant replay protocol from an off-field location during games.
On January 25, 2024, RamÃÂrez was named the bullpen coach for the Florida Complex League Braves, an Atlanta rookie-level affiliate. On February 11, 2025, RamÃÂrez was named pitching coach for the Rome Emperors, Atlanta's High-A affiliate.
RamÃÂrez's parents emigrated from Jalostotitlán, Jalisco, Mexico. He has two sisters. His grandmother, then living in Mexico, flew to watch his first start at Dodger Stadium. RamÃÂrez grew up in southern California, rooting for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
RamÃÂrez is married and has two children.