Aramis Ramirez: the yummiest of the Three Musketeers

Don't ask me about the title of this post. Whenever I think about Aramis Ramirez, my brain goes to the Three Musketeers, one of whom was named Aramis. The only other Musketeer to play pro ball was Athos Sada, who appeared in the minors in the 1930s. But then when I think of the Three Musketeers, I think of the candy bar.

Anyway...
Here are the third basemen to post a qualified Age 33 season with an OPS+ of at least 120:

Rk	Player	Year	OPS+	PA	G	AB	2B	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Aramis Ramirez	2011	136	626	149	565	35	26	93	.306	.361	.510	.871
2	Alex Rodriguez	2009	138	535	124	444	17	30	100	.286	.402	.532	.933
3	Mike Lowell	2007	124	653	154	589	37	21	120	.324	.378	.501	.879
4	Ken Caminiti	1996	173	638	146	546	37	40	130	.326	.408	.621	1.028
5	Wade Boggs	1991	140	641	144	546	42	8	51	.332	.421	.460	.881
6	George Brett	1986	137	529	124	441	28	16	73	.290	.401	.481	.881
7	Jim Morrison	1986	121	593	154	537	35	23	88	.274	.334	.482	.816
8	Mike Schmidt	1983	156	669	154	534	16	40	109	.255	.399	.524	.923
9	Toby Harrah	1982	142	708	162	602	29	25	78	.304	.398	.490	.888
10	Graig Nettles	1978	128	662	159	587	23	27	93	.276	.343	.460	.803
11	Harmon Killebrew	1969	177	709	162	555	20	49	140	.276	.427	.584	1.011
12	Eddie Mathews	1965	125	626	156	546	23	32	95	.251	.341	.469	.810
13	Ken Boyer	1964	130	704	162	628	30	24	119	.295	.365	.489	.854
14	Don Hoak	1961	122	586	145	503	27	12	61	.298	.388	.451	.839
15	Al Smith	1961	127	602	147	532	29	28	93	.278	.348	.506	.854
16	Bob Elliott	1950	140	602	142	531	28	24	107	.305	.386	.512	.898
17	Jimmy Collins	1903	126	579	130	540	33	5	72	.296	.329	.448	.777
18	Fred Hartman	1901	120	515	120	473	23	3	89	.309	.355	.431	.786

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/12/2011.

That's some decent company, but look at what happened to them for the rest of their careers:

Rk	Player	WAR/pos	From	To	Age	HR	RBI	Pos
1	Mike Schmidt	24.8	1984	1989	34-39	159	521	*53/6
2	Wade Boggs	19.7	1992	1999	34-41	40	377	*5/D31
3	Graig Nettles	14.0	1979	1988	34-43	146	522	*5/3D6
4	George Brett	13.8	1987	1993	34-40	108	545	*D3/5976
5	Harmon Killebrew	11.5	1970	1975	34-39	127	436	35D
6	Jimmy Collins	11.0	1904	1908	34-38	8	223	*5
7	Ken Caminiti	9.4	1997	2001	34-38	98	314	*5/3D
8	Ken Boyer	6.6	1965	1969	34-38	40	215	*5/3
9	Toby Harrah	6.2	1983	1986	34-37	26	164	45/D69
10	Alex Rodriguez	5.9	2010	2011	34-35	46	187	*5/D
11	Bob Elliott	5.4	1951	1953	34-36	34	166	*5/79
12	Eddie Mathews	5.4	1966	1968	34-36	35	118	*5/3

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/12/2011.

These are the only guys from the first list to post at least 5 WAR total for the rest of their careers. Ramirez signed a 3-year deal with the Brewers, taking him through his Age 36 season. Schmidt, Killebrew, and Boggs are the only guys from the initial list to post at least 10 total WAR over their Age 34-35-36 seasons.

The bottom line? Ramirez has a decent shot to be a decent player for the Brewers. They may need him to be a bit more than that if Ryan Braun is indeed suspended for the first 50 games.