Underrated Player of the Year: 2009

In this series, I look at one player per year from 1991-the present who came out of nowhere or had a great year that no one really noticed or expected.

Boston usually has one really good season from a reliever that seems to come out of nowhere.  That is something of the case with Ramon Ramirez in 2009.  Though he did have a quality season in the Royals pen in 2008, it was somewhat surprising to see him do as well as he did in 2009.  Relievers are fungible and you can never really tell from one year to the next what you are going to get.

Ramirez was acquired in a trade with the Royals in which Boston gave up Coco Crisp.  In 2009, Ramirez was one of the most consistent members of Boston's bullpen, compiling a record of 7-4 with a sparkling 2.84 ERA in 69.2 innings.  His walks and strikeouts were not really anything to write home about, but he came in an got the job done.  Ramirez actually lead the team in pitching appearances that year.  

Of course, he did not pitch nearly as well in 2010 and was eventually dealt to the Giants, where he re-gained his touch for the eventual World Champions.