In a dugout where new uniforms still look stiff and the pregame noise rises in layers, lucas ramirez is preparing to represent Brazil in the World Baseball Classic—an assignment that asks him to hold two stories at once: the family name on his back and the country he says he’s honoring for his mother.
What is lucas ramirez stepping into with Brazil at the World Baseball Classic?
Lucas Ramirez is set to play for Team Brazil in the World Baseball Classic, beginning with a matchup against Team USA on Friday night (ET). He will wear No. 24—an unmistakable number tied to his father, Manny Ramirez, who wore it throughout his career with the Boston Red Sox. The choice of number makes the moment instantly legible to fans who remember Manny’s years in Boston, but Lucas is framing the assignment as something broader than inheritance.
Lucas Ramirez’s connection to Brazil comes through his mother, Juliana, who was born and raised in São Paulo. He described the opportunity as more than a baseball event, emphasizing what it means to represent the country and its culture.
“It means a lot, ” Ramirez said. “I get to showcase my abilities for Team Brazil and represent her. I’m not only representing Brazil in baseball. I’m representing the whole country and showing love to the culture. ”
The tournament also carries national meaning for Brazil. This year marks Brazil’s first WBC appearance since 2013, and the team enters a five-country Pool B that includes the United States. The circumstances set up a familiar sports narrative—an underdog in a difficult group—but Lucas Ramirez is pushing back on the assumption that Brazil is there just to fill the schedule.
“We’re underrated, ” Ramirez said. “A lot of people think [teams] are just going to walk all over us, but nah. We’ve got some power. We’ve got strength. We’re going to fight. ”
How Manny Ramirez shaped Lucas Ramirez without writing his script
The family name creates a constant comparison point, but the details of Lucas Ramirez’s development show a more intimate reality: a father acting as a daily instructor, and a son building habits that started early and hardened into identity. Lucas, described as a natural righty, learned to bat left-handed at the instruction of Manny Ramirez, a nine-time Silver Slugger.
“He just made me a lefty when I was little and I just stuck to it, ” Ramirez said. “He was my hitting coach my whole life. I didn’t go to anybody else. I just trusted him. I tried to implement some of the stuff he did when he played, just from the left side. Nothing different. ”
Those lines sketch the kind of mentorship that can’t be reduced to a headline. It is technical—switching a natural right-handed hitter into a left-handed swing—but it is also relational: trust, repetition, and the decision to keep the circle tight.
At the same time, Lucas has signaled that the family legacy does not have to become a burden. In a 2025 interview cited in the context, he addressed the pressure that can come with being Manny Ramirez’s son.
“I don’t feel pressure, ” Lucas Ramirez told Baseball America in 2025. “I got here on my own. Obviously, my father helped me on the way, but I feel like I’ve earned my way here. ”
What the numbers say—and what Brazil hopes to prove
On the professional track, the Los Angeles Angels drafted Lucas Ramirez in the 17th round of the 2024 MLB Draft. In their farm system last year, he registered a. 772 OPS. Another set of performance details in the context describes a strong early showing in his first full season of professional baseball, including an. 828 OPS in rookie ball, followed by a move up to the Tri-City Dust Devils, the Angels’ High-A affiliate, where he struggled in limited appearances.
In the short window leading into the WBC stage, he has already produced a moment designed to turn heads: the 20-year-old homered off Jacob deGrom in an exhibition contest against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. It is one swing, in one exhibition, but it aligns with his message that Brazil has more punch than outsiders expect.
The larger picture, though, is about visibility. Brazil’s return to the WBC after a long gap places players like Lucas Ramirez in a role that is part competitor, part ambassador. His own words lean into that responsibility—“representing the whole country”—and, in doing so, he links his personal chance to a national effort to be taken seriously on a stage where attention is limited and reputations can be sticky.
The family story extends beyond Lucas. Manny Ramirez has three sons—Manny Jr., Manuelito, and Lucas—and the context describes each having played baseball at different levels, creating a wider “family tree” of players. That matters here because it suggests Lucas is not simply an isolated prospect with a famous parent; he is part of a household where baseball has been a long-running language.
Suggested image alt text: lucas ramirez wearing No. 24 with Team Brazil ahead of the World Baseball Classic
