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Former big league first baseman/outfielder has joined the University of Nebraska Omaha baseball program as an a sistant coach, . Theres been no formal announcement of retirement for the 38-year-old Ruf, but this certainly seems to indicate hes turning the page on his playing days and moving onto the next phase of his baseball journey. We are thrilled to have Darin join our baseball family, Mavericks head coach Evan Porter said in a statement within todays announcement. Darins incredible track record speaks for itself, but his character and work ethic are perhaps more impre sive. Ive been fortunate to know Darin for the past 20 years, his respect for the game and for the people around him is admirable. I couldnt be more excited to work with Darin, he is a tremendous addition to our program. A 20th-round pick out of Omahas Creighton University back in 2009, Ruf reached the majors with the Phillies in 2012 and went on to enjoy a nine-year career in the major leagues in addition to an excellent three-year run with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization (2017-19). Rufs debut campaign with the Phils was brief but showed clear potential for a meaningful big league career. He appeared in 12 games as a September call-up and popped three homers while batting .333/.351/.727 in 37 trips to the plate. The following season saw Ruf tally 293 plate appearances while hitting .247/.348/.458 with 14 round-trippers. Hed ultimately spend parts of five seasons with the Phillies, from 2012-16, batting a combined .240/.314/.433 while serving as a part-time first baseman and corner Ludovic Waeber Jersey outfielder who could provide some right-handed thump off the bench. From there, Rufs next stop was overseas. He not only found succe s with the KBOs Lions he took the entire league by storm. Ruf smacked 38 homers in his first Korean season and wound up posting a ma sive .313/.404/.564 batting line in 1756 plate appearances as a Lion. He belted 86 homers, 105 doubles and six triples during his run in the KBO, with overall offense about 45% better than league-average, by measure of wRC+. Ruf returned stateside for the 2020 season, taking a minor league deal with the Giants that proved to be an outstanding deal for San Francisco. He cracked the Giants opening day roster in the shortened 2020 campaign, his age-33 season, and in 100 plate appearances turned in a .276/.370./517 slash that made him an easy call to keep for the Giants to tender him a contract in arbitration in the 2020-21 offseason. Rufs 2021 output was even better than that small-sample 2020 showing; in 312 plate appearances he hit .271/.385/.519 with 16 homers. That sudden resurgence in the majors prompted the Giants to ink Ruf to a two-year, $6.25MM contract. His bat took a step back in the first season of the deal, but Ruf was still hitting at a slightly better-than-average level when the Mets acquired him at that summers trade deadline. His bat cratered following the move to Queens, however, and New York designated Ruf for a signment just before Opening Day 2023. He was released in early April, signed a minor league deal to return to the Giants, and split the 2023 season between San Francisco and Milwaukee, seeing brief playing time at both stops. It now seems likely thatll be the final stage of Rufs playing career. If hes indeed shifting his focus to a coaching track, hell conclude his time in the majors with a career .239/.329/.427 batting line, 351 hits, 67 homers, 69 doubles, three triples, six steals, 198 runs scored and 205 runs driven in. Between MLB and the KBO, he cracked more than 150 homers and piled up more than 800 hits all while earning more than $9MM in the majors and more than $4MM in South Korea. The Omaha native will now help mold a younger generation of players while returning to his hometown. Ruf expre sed excitement and gratitude in a statement of his own within todays announcement: I am thrilled to be joining Evans staff in Omaha. I have been ble sed with amazing coaches throughout my career and I am honored Evan has given me the opportunity to give back and work with these student athletes. I look forward to working with them on the field to become the best ball players they can be and off the field as they continue to develop into great people for the community of Omaha. Marcus Pettersson Jersey |
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发表于 2025-11-18 13:33:26