Jason Kelce stood in Progressive Field on Saturday night wearing a José Ramírez jersey, watching the Cleveland Guardians complete a comeback from an 0-2 deficit against the Chicago White Sox. When Ramírez drove a low curveball over the right-field wall for a two-run homer in a 2-0 series-clinching win, Kelce called it “one of the coolest moments of my life,” according to MLB.com.
Kelce, a minority owner of the Guardians and a Cleveland Heights native, made the trip to Progressive Field with the Kansas City Chiefs on a bye week. It gave him a rare chance to watch his childhood team chase a pennant in person, and the moment he witnessed became the signature image of Cleveland’s run through the ALCS.
Kelce’s Path To Game 5
Kelce’s attendance was not a given. The Chiefs tight end had just played the Sunday before against the Las Vegas Raiders, and his recovery window determined whether he could make the trip to Cleveland for the decisive game.
“I was very fortunate that I came out of [last Sunday’s win over the Raiders] healthy enough. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make it to Game 2 on Monday, but I told myself that if it went to Game 5, I owe it to my inner Cleveland childhood fan to make it here for the finale. And sure enough, the Guards didn’t disappoint,” Kelce said, according to MLB.com.
That line about owing it to his “inner Cleveland childhood fan” frames the night less as an owner’s obligation and more as a homecoming. Kelce took his minority stake in the Guardians earlier in the 2026 season, but his ties to the city predate any ownership paperwork.
The Home Run That Delivered The Series
Gavin Williams set the stage on the mound, striking out 12 batters and not allowing a hit until two outs into the sixth inning. Ramírez supplied the only runs of the game with a two-run shot off a low curveball from Sean Burke, a pitch that came in just 0.74 feet above the ground, the lowest pitch hit for a postseason home run since tracking began in 2008, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Kelce watched the ballpark erupt and connected it to the player he has followed for years. “It was what we know José to be, man. He’s been nothing but an All-Star both on this field and in the community, and to see him put this stadium in a frenzy and ignite everyone was amazing,” Kelce said.
He also drew a line back to his own childhood memories at the same ballpark, long before it carried its current name. “I remember being in this stadium when Sandy Alomar hit that home run in the 1997 All-Star Game. And as a kid to now, seeing these historical moments here in Progressive Field, and it was Jacobs Field when I was a younger kid, I’m such a fortunate person to be a Cleveland fan and see all this greatness,” Kelce said.
A Comeback Built On Camaraderie
Beyond the individual moment, Kelce pointed to the makeup of the roster as what separated this Guardians team. “This team has camaraderie. You can see how much energy they have for each other, how much love they have for each other.
And that’s hard to beat. I’ve been around a lot of good, good teams, and one of the core things that I know that I can see from a distance is how much each one loves each other’s success,” Kelce said.
Cleveland became just the 11th team to rally from an 0-2 hole in a best-of-five playoff series, and only the fourth to do so after dropping the first two games at home. It marked the first time since the 2017 New York Yankees pulled off that feat against Cleveland itself, a franchise history detail that adds weight to how rare Saturday’s result was.
Kelce was clear that despite his current football home, his loyalties never left Ohio. “I’m Cleveland through and through. I’ve been over there in Kansas City and giving my all for that city. But my childhood and my heart and my desire and my love for sports is always going be based here in Cleveland,” he said.
Ramírez’s Road Back
The home run capped a difficult 2026 season for Ramírez, who batted .235, the second-lowest mark of his 14-year career. He missed 30 games in June and July after surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his left hand, and continued to deal with inflammation even after returning.
He found his timing late, posting multi-hit games in five of his last nine regular-season contests and going 12 for 38 in that stretch. The pattern carried into the series against Chicago. Ramírez went 0 for 6 with three strikeouts in the first two games before turning it around to go 5 for 12 with two homers and seven RBIs over the final three, according to the Sporting News.
A teammate summed up the turnaround plainly. “With the way he performed the last two, you could tell he’s just like, ‘I got you.’ He put us on his back one more time,” the teammate said. Another added, “It’s just like we always talk about.
He’s one swing away from getting it going and I think every ball he put in play was hard the last three games and that’s just who he is. You don’t ever count him out. You don’t ever worry about him.
He’s going to show up when we need him.”
Where The Home Run Fits In Franchise History
Ramírez’s blast was his sixth career postseason home run, tying him with Albert Belle for third-most in franchise history. He also became the first Cleveland player to homer in consecutive postseason games since Francisco Lindor did it in 2018, and the first in franchise history to do so in back-to-back elimination games.
The pitching staff matched the moment, combining for 21 strikeouts, a record for a nine-inning postseason game. At 34, Ramírez remains the longest-tenured player on the roster, having debuted in 2013 and played his entire career in Cleveland.
Burke, who surrendered the decisive homer, credited Ramírez’s preparation. “We’ve faced him a couple of times. So we know he has a really good curveball.
I was able to get my legs and get a good contact,” a teammate said of facing him, while Burke himself acknowledged the difficulty of the matchup. “Obviously, it came down to one pitch to Ramirez. He’s a really good player.
He’s probably going to be in the Hall of Fame some day. But it’s frustrating,” Burke said.
What’s Next
The win sends the Guardians forward in the ALCS after eliminating the White Sox, continuing a postseason run defined by Ramírez’s late-series surge. For Kelce, the trip home delivered on the promise he made to himself before the series ever reached a fifth game, and gave the Guardians’ new minority owner a moment he says he will not forget.
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