Ruiz had hit just .219 that year, but his performance in the World Series in '08 seemed to be the springboard for success from there. In fact, Carlos hit .270 from 2009 until his career ended following the 2017 season.
Ruiz's Philadelphia Phillies were up against a team that didn't even exist in 1980, the last time Philly won. Or even 1993, the last time the Phillies reached the World Series.
Carlos had gotten it all together in the National League Championship Series vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. LA had some kid named Clayton Kershaw, who recently joined the ranks of 200-win pitchers. But here, Kershaw made two relief appearances. Carlos Ruiz hit .313 in the five game tournament, and his team was on their way to the World Series.
There, Philadelphia met the Tampa Bay Rays, who'd dropped the "Devil" from their title. From Devil Rays to Ray of Sunshine. However, the team, which began play in 1998, would quickly find out that the Philly catcher was one to be reckoned with.
The Phillies were playing at home, and it all started out innocently enough, as Ruiz walked his first time up, in the second. Only then, to be erased on an inning-ending double play. Actually, what happened was, Carlos Ruiz tried to score on a fly to centre. B.J. Upton gunned it to Dioner Navarro, and despite having the bases loaded, Philly did not score.
But the next time up, the Philadelphia catcher came up with runners on second and third and nobody out. It's worth noting that Ruiz (Whose nickname was "Chooch") had been slotted in the ninth slot in the order, as the game was played under American League rules (Designated hitter). So, there was no way Tampa was putting Carlos on to pitch to leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins. So, even though he just grounded out, Ruiz had himself an RBI. 0-1 with a walk and an RBI. Not a bad start.
Scott Kazmir retired Chooch again in the sixth, so his performance was sort of flying under the radar. All Carlos could do in the eighth was line out. The good news was the Phillies eked out a 3-2 win, right there in Tropicana Field. Ruiz hadn't done too bad behind the dish, as the Rays were 1-2 in stolen bases / attempts.
So, the home team needed game two. Tampa did, indeed, square it with a 4-2 win. The 2008 World Series was starting off very tight. The problem was, by the time Carlos grabbed a bat, it seemed like too late. It was 3-0 for the Rays, early, and he was merely leading off the third. He doubled and didn't score. Ruiz again led off in the fifth. This time, Ruiz drew a walk off James Shields. Jimmy Rollins forced him at second. Although Jayson Werth, the only batter to hit higher batting average on Philadelphia than Ruiz, followed with a single, it was to no avail. Chase Utley hurt a promising situation (Two on, one out) by hitting into an inning-ending double play.
It was just a bad inning overall. Granted, Tampa didn't score, but even the man behind the dish of the visitors had some problems. Carlos Pena drew a one-out walk off Brett Myers. Obviously, they wanted to keep him from going anywhere, seeing as it was 4-0 for the Rays at this point. And, not wanting this game to get too far away, manager Charlie Manuel made sure there was some bullpen action. Scott Eyre began to loosen up. The first pitch to the next batter, Evan Longoria, was a strike. Myers, who'd walked three batters, threw over to first as Longoria was behind 0-1, and having a quick chat with the home plate umpire. A throw to first. Pena got back. The next pitch didn't miss by much, but it was a ball. And then the ball was on it's way to first. However, the throw by Carlos Ruiz was bad, and it went down the first base line. Pena made it to second. Nothing came of it, as Longoria fanned and Carl Crawford grounded out.
Chooch added a walk in the seventh, but nothing came of it, either. The bases on balls, which again led off the inning, was remarkable in itself, however. The 1-1 pitch was a fast, fastball, which Carlos took for strike two. But talk about hanging on, you should have seen the rest of the plate appearance.
The next pitch nearly was over everyone's head, so the count was even, 2-2. However, the next four pitches were ones that that Ruiz swung at. Perhaps this would help the Philadelphia cause if he reliever Dan Wheeler out of the game. The first 2-2 pitch was fouled off towards the Tampa bullpen. Carlos jumped on the next offering, which was a curveball that was up a little, but could only foul it off to left. The third 2-2 pitch was a grounder foul, which was a good thing, as third basemen Longoria reached out for it and picked it up, meaning had it been fair, it would have been a 5-3 putout. Being so tenacious, Ruiz fouled off another pitch. For pitches, fouled off to stay alive. The next pitch was a ball, running the count full. "3-2 pitch," said announcer Joe Buck, as it was taken for ball four, "and what a good at-bay by Ruiz, who out of the number nine spot, is on for the third time tonight." The plate appearance was ten pitches. Tampa Bay now had David Price throwing in the bullpen. The next two batters fanned, but Carlos stole second when Jimmy Rollins fanned. And a pitching change was made, as Price came in. Chase Utley walked. Ryan Howard became the third Philly to strikeout in the inning.
Price gave up a home run to Eric Bruntlett in the eighth, though. The shutout was gone. In the ninth, Ruiz tried to get Philly closer still. He led off with a double. Jimmy Rollins then was hit by a pitch. Home play umpire Kerwin Danley missed the call. Rollins was retired on a popup to Jason Bartlett, the shorstop. Ruiz was still on second. He scored when Jayson Werth sent a hard grounder to third, where Evan Longoria got his glove on it, but the ball deflected off it into left field. Ruiz motored around third, and scored. Despite the bad call, the Phillies were finding ways to hang around. David Price, though, settled down, and retired the next two batters, preserving the win for the Rays.
Well, that had been a tough loss, but Philadelphia got the split, and were heading home for games three, four and five.
Carlos Ruiz, for his part, had two hits, three walks, a run scored and an RBI. Perhaps most impressive, was his batting average, .400. But, what about more modern stats? The three walks contributed to an amazing on-base percentage of .625.
Yet, the catcher found himself batting in front of his batterymate in game three. Jamie Moyer, who'd win 269 big-league games, started for Philadelphia in the third contest. Taylor Swift sang the National Anthem, and perhaps gave her hometown state a blessing. The contest itself, though, was anything but swift.
Moyer found himself in a 1-1 ballgame, until his catcher came up in the last of the second. Ruiz hit a home run.
Yet, it was Tampa that was finding ways to score on this night. Carl Crawford had doubled in the Rays' half of the second. He made Ruiz night a long one with a huge steal of third. It was big, as Gabe Gross plated him via a sacrifice fly. B.J. Upton also stole a base in the sixth. It was his first of three in the ballgame.
The Phillies led the Rays 4-1 after six, only to see the visiting team score twice in the seventh. B.J. Upton started the top of the eighth with a single. He stole second on the very first offering to the next batter, Longoria. And on the play Ruiz didn't bother to try and get Upton. B.J. stole third on the second pitch to Evan. Carlos Ruiz's throw to third was bad, as it actually ended up hitting the thief, and then bounced away to the left of third. This allowed Upton to score. Game tied, 4-4.
But the nice thing about baseball, is there always seems to be a way to redeem yourself, provided you still get to bat or field again. Chooch's next plate appearance would decide the game.
It all started in the bottom of the ninth. Eric Bruntlett was hit by a pitch. Then, a wild pitch moved him into scoring position. Tampa tried to get Bruntlett at second. But all Dioner Navarro managed to do was throw the ball into centre field. When all the smoke had cleared, the winning run was at third. There were no outs. Shane Victorino was walked intentionally. So was pinch hitter Greg Dobbs. This loaded the bases. But now, Tampa could go to home and to first for a double play.
Well, enter Carlos Ruiz into the spotlight.
He'd hit a home run earlier, but here, in a tie ballgame, he needed to find a way to get the ball out of the infield. He could also walk, or get hit by pitch. There were plenty of ways he could be the hero. And there was a way he could take Philly out of the inning. Matt Stairs was in the on-deck circle. He'd bat for the pitcher should it come to that.
The infield was all in. Actually, there were suddenly five Tampa Bay infielders. Ben Zobrist had come in from right field to join in the efforts to get the man at home. B.J. Upton was bit to the right of centre.
The first pitch was high and inside from reliever Grant Balfour. Then, a Carlos chased a fastball that was high. But he only hit it foul. Ruiz swung at the third pitch, which was 96 miles per hour. He missed. Balfour came up stairs for the putaway. But, Ruiz, fighting Balfour as hard as Kirk Gibson had battled Dennis Eckersley in game one of the 1988 World Series, caught up to it. He only managed to foul it off. But Ruiz was still alive. Grant missed the plate on the next 1-2 pitch.
Carlos Ruiz swung at the 2-2, and hit a chopper to third, and Eric Bruntlett gunned it towards home. The throw home was high. No one touched it. But Bruntlett touched home, setting off a wild celebration. An amazing night. Carlos Ruiz was locked in. Six years later, he remembered his walk-off, with some humour!
"I knew I had to put the ball in play and I was lucky that I hit the ball.
"I did not hit the ball real hard," he said with a laugh, "but it was a big moment in my career."
It had been quite a Fall Classic so far, as every game was close. So, having said that, the fourth game was a let-down. Not if you were a Philly fan, though. This was the contest where the home team wanted it 3-1, rather than the series tied.
Carlos was back in the eighth slot. Now, this is a curious move after such a huge game three. The way the night played out at Citizens Bank Park, Chooch was in the background, unnoitced.
The best the Philly catcher did was keep the third inning alive, singling to load the bases. Ruiz's team had scored once in the inning, and were up 2-0 in the ballgame. Joe Blanton popped out to end the third.
It was a night of home runs. Carl Crawford got Tampa on board with one. Ryan Howard hit a three-run blast for the home side. Eric Hinske made it a little closer, 5-2, with a solo shot for the Rays in the fifth. But the inning didn't conclude without another Phillies' four-bagger. Joe Blanton followed Carlos Ruiz ground out in the fifth with a solo blast, making it 6-2 for Philadelphia.
Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard each went deep for the Phillies in the eighth to make this one a real laugher. But what about Carlos Ruiz? He managed to go just 1-4, and saw his batting average sink to .417 in the 2008 World Series. His team won game four, 10-2. This would be the only one-sided contest of the Fall Classic.
Philly still needed one more win, but wasted little time in getting it going in the fifth game. They cashed in two in the first, and looked for more as Carlos Ruiz batted with the bases loaded. Two away. This was a big moment, a chance to blow the game wide open. So game five could have been a rout. Alas, Carlos Ruiz grounded out. Scott Kazmir had walked two and hit a batter in the first, but limited the damage.
Tampa Bay got on the board in the fourth, but in the Philadelphia half of the frame, they looked for the knockout punch on Kazmir. Ruiz singled with one away, and the Phillies had the makings of a big inning not long after. Pitcher Cole Hamels, though, forced Ruiz at second. But rather than make life difficult for Philly, Scott Kazmir seemed to loose control. Two more walks loaded the bases. Chase Utley grounded out.
Two more walks in the fifth finished Scott Kazmir. Grant Balfour hopped in from the Rays' bullpen. And was lights out. He got the next three batters, including Ruiz, out. It was still only 2-1 for the Phillies.
The teams traded runs in the sixth and seventh, so it was 4-3 Philly. Pedro Feliz's single gave Philadelphia a lead they would not relinquish. Carlos Ruiz was next, but Chad Bradford got ahead of him 0-2. On the next pitch (With Price warming up for Tampa), Ruiz lined one back through the box, and seemingly into centre field o. Chad Bradford got out of the way of it, and it looked as though Carlos had a hit. But second basemen Akinori Iwamura dove to his right to stop the bouncer, and snagged it. Had Felix not been on first, Iwamura would have had a tough play to first, and the momentum was carrying him the wrong way. Jason Bartlett covered second and Akinori got him the ball for one amazing force.
The Phillies would have to settle for a one-run lead.
J.C. Romero had gotten the home team out of the seventh inning, then retired the Rays in the eighth, facing only three batters (He got a double play). The ninth inning was not easy, as you knew Tampa wasn't going to go down without a fight.
Brad Lidge was on to nail it down. But after retiring the first batter, Lidge gave up a single to Dioner Navarro. Fernando Perez came on to run for Navarro. Pinch hitter Ben Zobrist batted next. Would Fernando test Carlos? You bet. Perez swiped second on the third pitch to Zobrist. It was the seventh stolen base of the Fall Classic for the Rays. So the tying run was at second. But Zobrist flied out and another pinch hitter, Eric Hinske fanned on three pitches.
So Ruiz had to be contest with having nabbed just one base runner. He was also just 1-4. Meanwhile, teammate Jayson Werth had a huge game, going 2-3 with two bases on balls. Werth had been hitting .364 after three games, whereas Carlos Ruiz had been at an even .500. It was a close finish, as Werth finished the 2088 Fall Classic leading all players in batting average, .444. The catcher on Philadelphia finished .375.
Did it matter to Chooch, when all was said and done? The regular season had ended with a poor batting average. The Fall Classic ended with him right near the top in batting. And when asked by Ian Riccaboni in 2014, "What was your favorite moment as a Phillie?" the catcher gave an affirmative answer, "The final out of the World Series. Definitely when we won the World Series. It was one of those things you’ll never forget, it was real special." Ruiz had made that special moment in the City of Brotherly Love possible.
References
Morissey, Scott C. 114 World Series in 1 Book. Updated ed., Pandamonium Publishing House, 2020.
Riccaboni, Ian. “PN Interview: Carlos Ruiz.” Phillies Nation, Phillies Nation, 8 Oct. 2014, https://www.philliesnation.com/2014/10/pn-interview-carlos-ruiz/. 29 Apr. 2023.
Riccaboni, Ian. “PN Interview: Carlos Ruiz.” Phillies Nation, Phillies Nation, 8 Oct. 2014, https://www.philliesnation.com/2014/10/pn-interview-carlos-ruiz/. 29 Apr. 2023.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. 29 Apr. 2023.
Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/. 29 Apr. 2023.
World Series 2008. Fox Broadcasting Company, Oct. 2008, https://www.youtube.com/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2023.
YouTube, Google, https://www.youtube.com/. 29 Apr. 2023.
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