Darin Ruf

At 37 years old, Darin Ruf has this physical status:

Early life and career

Ruf was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Bill and Mary Ruf; he has four siblings (one of whom is older, the other is younger). He attended Westside High School, where he helped the team win a Nebraska state championship his sophomore season and finish as the runner-up his senior year. He also played football and basketball and was the captain of the baseball and football teams during his senior season, winning all-state accolades in both football and basketball.

He committed to play baseball at Creighton University as part of the university's "commission of athletics and academics"; there, he was a "standout" over his four seasons as the squad's first baseman during his senior season.

He appeared in all 52 games in Ruf's freshman season (2006). He was named MVC Player of the Year (MVC) in 2007 and a first-team all conference squad member as well as a first-team all-conference scholar. He was also named an all-star for his efforts in summer collegiate baseball, during which he was a member of the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Northwoods League. He hit his first 15 games in 2008, which contributed to his.347 season batting average. He played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League following the 2008 season. By ESPN, his academic career came to an end in 2009, when he was selected to the second-team all-MVC squad and a third-team academic All American. He was "all about the Bluejays," finishing second in total bases with 423, third in hits with 423, fifth in doubles with 275, seventh for 10th in home runs with 27 runs and tied for 10th in home runs with 27. During his time at Creighton, he earned a degree in finance, established a 3.51 grade point average (GPA), and aspired to be a good businessman.

Professional career

In the 20th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, Ruf was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies. Ruf "is an outstanding defensive first baseman with a chance to smash and has beautiful makeup," scouting director Marti Wolever said after the Philadelphia Phillies drafted him. Ruf's fielding had been described as either "serviceable" or "weak" after converting to play in the outfield, but Phillies general manager Rubén Amaro Jr. said he didn't have the defensive skills to play every day.

In 2009, he was with the GCL Phillies for his first professional work; after doing well there, he was promoted to the Williamsport Crosscutters of short season A. He had a batting average of over.300 for both squads. He has also competed in the Florida Instructional League.

He began the season with the Lakewood BlueClaws, a member of Class A, but he played only 32 games there. In late May, the Phillies promoted him to the Class A-Advanced Clearwater Threshers and made him the Phillies' minor league player of the week. He batted in nine home runs and 67 runs batted in (RBIs), while still batting for a.290 amalgamated average.

He began his emergence in 2011 when he scored 43 doubles, 17 home runs (8th in the league), and 82 RBIs (4th) and a.308 batting average. During a 23-inning game, defensively, he played first base, third base, and left field, as well as pitching two innings of relief. He was voted an All Star of MiLB.com and a post-season All Star. He appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League during the season.

Ruf enjoyed a lot of success with the Reading Phillies (since being renamed the Reading Fightin Phils) in 2012, winning the Eastern League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award as well as the Paul Owens Award, which is given to the best player in the Phillies' minor league system. The Fightin Phils sold T-shirts that read "Babe Ruf," a nod to Babe Ruth. He batted.317/.408/.620 for the Eastern League (and all of minor league baseball) with 38 home runs, 104 RBIs, and tied for the league lead in on-base percentage and tied for the second place (32), while Aaron Hicks (93), third in walks (65), and seventh in doubles (32), a slugging rookie) on September 14, all en route to his major league debut and debuting in September 14 (skipping the Triple-64). He was named Rookie of the Year, a mid-season All Star, a MiLB.com Organization All Star, and a Topps Double-A All Star.

On September 25, he hit his first major league run off the Washington Nationals' Ross Detwiler. In his 12-game "cup of coffee" at the end of the season, Ruf had three home runs and ten RBIs. Phillies Nation magazine recapped his season and his progression through the minor league system:

Ruf spent the 2013 season in Triple-A with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, but the Phillies recall him on July 6 after Ryan Howard was put on the disabled list. He was named as a Baseball America Double-A All Star in the minor leagues. He came in fifth among rookies with 14 home runs, nine of which were in August, the most among any major league player at the time. 28 of his 70 starts at the major leagues were at first base, 27 in right field, and 16 in left field, while the other 16 in left field were numbered in left field, with 59 appearing in Triple-A, with 19 remaining at first base. "Even after proving he can be a valuable offensive contributor and demonstrating his defensive versatility, Ruf's spot in the Phillies' roster could not be guaranteed for next season." According to one columnist, one columnist wrote. He batted.247/.348/.458 for the season.

He was supposed to compete for a spot on the bench this season, but Amaro said he was not strong enough, particularly defensively, to play every day. Despite this, the Phillies placed him on the disabled list (DL) due to a strained oblique; his estimated recovery time was around the end of April or the start of May. Ruf, a student at the University of On June 3, he sustained another injury while playing left field but suffered another fractured his left arm. On July 22, John Mayberry, Jr., returned to the major leagues, but he had just two hits in his first 17 games. However, the Phillies beat platooning him with Ryan Howard, who was also struggling at first base, and Ruf played two innings at third base. Ruf made only 117 major league plate appearances, batting.235/.404/.402, but was greatly limited by injuries.

Rufonce more had to fight for playing time as 2015 began; there was no definite opening for him on the Phillies' roster, despite the fact that he was one of the few players on the roster with the potential to play for office. He batted.235/.400/.414, which was his best batsman of the season. At.158, he had the lowest batting average against right-handers in all MLB hitters (140 or more plate appearances).

Ruf was optioned to Triple-A on May 13, 2016 to make room on the roster for Tommy Joseph. With Lehigh Valley he finished second in the league with 20 home runs, 5th with a.529 slugging percentage, and 7th with 65 RBIs. He was awarded the All Star award by the MiLB.com group. He batted.205/.337/.337 for the season in the major leagues. Ruf was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers (along with Darnell Sweeney) in exchange for Howie Kendrick on November 11, 2016.

Ruf's $1.1 million Dodgers deal was sold to the Samsung Lions of the KBO League on February 17, 2017. Ruf batted.315/.569 and led the Korea Baseball Organization with 124 RBIs, while still hitting 38 doubles (5th) and 31 home runs (6th) in his first season in South Korea.

He was re-signed for the 2018 season at $1.5 million. He batted.319/.605 in 2018 with 33 home runs (8th) and 125 RBIs (tied for 2nd) and 65 walks (6th) with a 1.024 OPS (3rd).

He batted 2.92/.315 (4th in the league), 22 home runs (6th), 102 RBIs (5th), and 80 walks (2nd) in 2019. Following the 2019 season, Ruf became a free agent.

Ruf signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants on January 23, 2020. He was on the team's first day roster. He batted.276/.370/.517 in 87 at bats over 40 games, posting 5 home runs and 18 RBIs in 87 at bats over 40 games.

The Giants extended Ruf in the 2021 season by a one-year arbitration for a $1.275 million contract. He batted.271/.385/.519 in 262 at bats in the 2021 regular season. He appeared in 44 games at first base, 33 games in left field, 5 games in right field, and 5 games in right field, all in a single game.

Ruf signed a two-year, $6.25 million deal with the Giants on March 22, 2022, avoiding wage arbitration.

Ruf was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for J. D. Davis, Carson Seymour, Nick Zwack, and Thomas Szapucki on August 2, 2022. Ruf made his Mets debut on August 5, 2022, while Tyler Naquin and remaining in left field. Ruf pitched two scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves on August 15, making him the first regular position player to pitch multiple innings in a single game for the Mets.

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