Ramos remembers his grandfather, ready to return to baseball

ST. LOUIS - Wilson Ramos ambled onto the field at Busch Stadium yesterday morning, his Nationals teammates having already been out there for a little while taking batting practice, and began the process of returning to his professional life after a five-day break to take care of his personal life.

Ramos, who had gone home to Venezuela following the death of his grandfather, admittedly was still grieving but found solace in putting on his uniform again and preparing for yesterday's game against the Cardinals, even if he didn't play himself.

"This is my other family," the 28-year-old catcher said. "I know it's hard, but I'm very happy to be here again, because this is the only thing I can do to turn the page and do something different and not think too much. I'm happy to be here again."

Jesus Campos, Ramos' maternal grandfather, was only 79 when he died last week, but Ramos said he had been sick for roughly the last six years. The two shared a love of baseball, and Ramos said it was his grandfather who taught him how to play the game.

Campos never played professionally - he made his living selling fruit in a small store back home - but one of Ramos' uncles did reach Triple-A back in the day. Ramos is the first member of the family to play in the major leagues, and that was a special source of pride for his grandfather.

"When I did it, he was very excited, because that was his dream, to see his sons or me or my brothers," Ramos said. "But I did it. He was really, really happy to see me here."

Major League Baseball allows players to go on bereavement leave for a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven days. The Nationals weren't sure exactly when Ramos was going to return, and in fact they originally intended for him not to be activated for yesterday's series finale against the Cardinals.

But once he reported to the ballpark, the club was required to activate him, so 22-year-old Pedro Severino was optioned back to Triple-A Syracuse. Jose Lobaton caught the entire game and is scheduled to be behind the plate again tonight when the Nationals open a three-game series in Kansas City with Gio Gonzalez (whom Lobaton always catches) on the mound.

Ramos likely will use today as an opportunity to get back into, as manager Dusty Baker called it, "baseball mode." He'll participate in defensive drills, taking batting practice and catch a bullpen session. He'll probably return to the starting lineup Tuesday night, hoping that a full return to his professional life will help ease his personal pain.

"I'm sure it's going to be a tough period for him for the next, who knows, the rest of your life," Baker said. "Anybody who's lost a father or grandfather, you realize you never get over it. You just learn to live without them."