| Carlos Ruiz | |
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| Philadelphia Phillies – No. 51 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: January 22, 1979 David, Chiriquí, Panama |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| May 6, 2006 for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| Career statistics (through 2011) |
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| Batting average | .265 |
| Home runs | 36 |
| Runs batted in | 231 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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Carlos Joaquín Ruiz (born January 22, 1979), nicknamed Chooch,[1] is the starting catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.
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In 2004, Ruiz spent his entire season with the Double-A Reading Phillies, where his 17 home runs were second among catchers in the Eastern League. He also had a season-best 10-game hitting streak in July and hit .343 (23–67) over his final 17 games. He played in the developmental Arizona Fall League as well.
In 2005, Ruiz batted .300 in 100 games (347 AB) with 25 doubles, 30 walks, and 4 home runs. In 2006 before his callup, Ruiz was batting .385 with an on-base percentage of .448, including 5 doubles and 6 home runs in 91 at-bats. He also participated in the 2006 inaugural World Baseball Classic, playing for Panama.
Ruiz was called up to the Phillies in May 2006, and played in 27 games that year.
The Phillies signed Rod Barajas before the 2007 season because they had some concerns about Ruiz' ability to catch, hit, and generally hold up over a full season at the major league level; however, those concerns were dispelled. Barajas' injury left an opening for backup Chris Coste on the Phillies' roster, but Ruiz played 115 games in 2007. After Barajas left for Toronto in 2008, Ruiz sat atop the depth chart at catcher and played in 117 games for the Phillies helping them win their second straight NL East title.
In 2007, Ruiz hit six home runs and compiled a .259 batting average. He had one of the highest fielding percentages in baseball among catchers with a .997, with only 2 errors in 744 chances. On June 26, 2007, Ruiz stole home on the front end of a double steal in an 11–4 home win over the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the first Phillie to steal home in 10 years and the first Phillies catcher to steal home in 25 years.
On October 25, 2008, in Game 3 of the 2008 World Series, Ruiz hit his first postseason home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Garza at Citizens Bank Park. In the ninth inning, he recorded a walk-off single, sending Eric Bruntlett home from third, becoming the fourth National League player to hit a bases-loaded walk-off hit in World Series history, the first to deliver a walk-off infield hit, and the first walk-off of any kind by a Phillies player in the World Series.
In 2009, Ruiz had a fielding percentage of .996, while posting a .255 batting average with nine home runs.
In 2010, he became the only player of Panamanian descent to catch a perfect game, and raised his season batting average to a career-best .302.
Ruiz caught Roy Halladay's perfect game on May 29, 2010 against the Florida Marlins and Halladay's no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of the National League Divisional Series on October 6, 2010. In so doing, he became the first man since the Chicago Cubs' Randy Hundley in 1972 to catch two no-hitters during the same season (Burt Hooton and Milt Pappas) and the first since Yogi Berra in 1951 to catch two no-hitters by the same pitcher during the same season (the New York Yankee caught both of Allie Reynolds' no-hitters). On August 12, 2010, when the Phillies were down 9–2 going into the 8th inning, they scored 8 runs in the 8th inning. The following inning, the bottom of the 9th, the Phillies were tied and Ruiz hit a walk off double to win the game, 10–9.
Ruiz returned for the Phillies' 2011 season as their everyday starting catcher.
Ruiz was selected to the 2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team.[2] The selection was the result of the 49th annual Topps balloting of major league managers.
In 2010, baseball fans voted Ruiz the "X-Factor Player of the Year" in MLB's This Year in Baseball Awards.[3]
Also in 2010, Ruiz received the Pride of Philadelphia Award from the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2011, Ruiz was rated the most underrated catcher in baseball by Jayson Stark, of ESPN. One scout in the MLB quoted, "I think he's the best catcher in the game – other than [Joe] Mauer, who's on a different planet."[4]
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