Minor leagues In 1998, Ruiz followed his dream of playing professional
baseball first by attending the Phillies Baseball Academy in
La Vega, Dominican Republic, where he played
catcher for the first time, moving from his initial position of
second base. Though he was ready to quit because "he looked and felt like a 10-year-old among the tall, athletic prospects surrounding him", his uncle convinced him in a phone conversation to stick with it. and he made his professional debut in 1999 with the
Dominican Summer League (DSL) team
DSL Phillies, with whom he compiled a .305
batting average, 4
home runs, and 35
runs batted in (RBIs) in 60 games. Prior to the 2000 season, Ruiz met
Mick Billmeyer, the Phillies' minor league catching coordinator, who served as his mentor. Billmeyer sought to learn Spanish while Ruiz sought to learn English, and the two bonded as Billmeyer helped mold Ruiz into an eventual top prospect and ultimately a starting catcher. In 2004, Ruiz spent the entire season with the
Double-A Reading Phillies, posting a .284 batting average and hitting 17
home runs, the latter of which was second among catchers in the
Eastern League. In addition to his strong offensive numbers, he threw out 25 of 76 attempted base stealers (32.9%). and Ruiz debuted on May 6. He was recalled on July 4, when he hit his first major league home run off
San Diego Padres' pitcher
Clay Hensley. He was optioned back to the minor leagues once more before his recall on August 31—essentially a
September callup.
2007 Ruiz permanently joined the Phillies' roster on opening day 2007, after eight seasons in the minor leagues. He ultimately "grabbed hold of the top job [as starting catcher] and never let go". The Phillies signed
Rod Barajas before the season because of concerns about Ruiz's ability to catch, hit, and generally hold up over a full season at the major league level, as seasons there are longer than in the minor leagues. During the season, he honed his confidence and earned the trust of the Phillies' pitching staff, including veteran
Jamie Moyer, who commented, "I see a real assuredness to his body language. He's not cocky or brash. He just seems very confident in what's going on."
2008 Ruiz entered the 2008 season focused predominantly on defense, specifically helping the pitcher: Ruiz struggled to hit consistently throughout the season, specifically in the first half; from the beginning of the year until July 11, he hit .206 with 2 home runs and 20 RBIs. Nevertheless, due to his rapport with the pitching staff (pitchers'
earned run average when throwing to him was 3.56, the best for any catcher in the
National League), and a vote of confidence from manager
Charlie Manuel, he was secure in his position. In late July, he had a multi-hit game against the
New York Mets, which may have helped him break out of his slump. Ultimately, during the regular season, he hit .219 with 4 home runs and 31 RBIs. Subsequently, in game 3 of the
2008 World Series, Ruiz tapped a ground ball up the third-base line for a walk-off infield single, the first in MLB history. Ruiz noted, "I heard them cheering. And that's when I knew, 'Okay it's over' ... I'll take a win." The Phillies eventually won the World Series for the first time since 1980, doing so in five games, the last of which began on October 27 and ended on October 29 after it was suspended part-way through due to rain. For his performance in the playoffs, he earned the nickname "Señor Octubre" (Mr. October in Spanish). Early in the season, he suffered a
muscle strain in his right
oblique, which lost him playing time while on the disabled list. Despite his missed time, he started 100 games and set career highs in home runs (9) and
base on balls (47), as well as posting a .255 batting average and 43 RBIs. In the postseason, he led the team with a .341 batting average, and recorded a .491 OBP, having reached base in each of the Phillies' 15 games,
2010 In 2010, Ruiz had a season filled with "indelible moments". He was catcher for
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, the first time a catcher had caught two no-hitters in one season since 1972. On May 4, he hit a
walk-off home run, the second of his career, to lead the Phillies over the
St. Louis Cardinals. Ruiz spent time on the DL in late June and early July with a
concussion, but according to manager
Charlie Manuel returned with a more efficient swing that allowed him to hit better against
power pitchers. During the 2010 postseason, he did not perform as well as in past years—in nine games, he hit .192 with two home runs and four RBIs. Fans voted Ruiz the "X-Factor Player of the Year" in MLB's
This Year in Baseball Awards. He also received the
Pride of Philadelphia Award from the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Halladay called Ruiz a "rock" behind the plate, and presented him with a replica of his
Cy Young Award.
2011 Ruiz returned for the Phillies' 2011 season as their everyday starting catcher, and started 113 games, of which the Phillies won 70 (.619 winning percentage).
2012 Ruiz began the 2012 season strongly, and throughout the season was a bright spot on an otherwise disappointing team. Through June 27, he led the Major Leagues with a .364 average. This contributed to a stellar first half of the season earned him his first placement on the National League
All-Star team. He was a reserve, though some analysts, including ESPN's
John Kruk, felt his numbers warranted a starting nod, which ultimately went to the
San Francisco Giants'
Buster Posey through the fan voting. Shortly after the announcement that he was an all-star, a piece in
The Philadelphia Daily News entitled "The evolution of Carlos Ruiz" summarized his career: "Ruiz, though, was never a major prospect. He was a reserve catcher before he was a starting catcher. He was a bottom-of-the-order hitter before he was a middle-of-the-order hitter. And now, for the first time in his career, Carlos Ruiz is an All-Star." After the all-star break, he spent over a month on the disabled list with
plantar fasciitis, hindering his statistical totals, which at the time of his injury were among the best in the National League. Adderall is a drug prescribed for treating
ADHD, described as a "central nervous system stimulant used to increase the attention span and decrease distractibility." He made his 2013 season debut on April 28 against the
New York Mets at
Citi Field. On May 20, he was placed on the DL with a
Grade 2 strained hamstring. He came back with a four-hit game, which tied his career high, against the
Los Angeles Dodgers on August 18, In the 2013 season, Ruiz compiled a .268 batting average, five home runs, and 37 RBIs in 92 games, his lowest major league total since 2006. After the season, Ruiz became a free agent. He re-signed on November 21, 2013, to a three-year contract worth plus a club option for a fourth season, giving the Phillies have an option to bring Ruiz back for a fourth season, at their discretion. Though one writer suggested his 2013 year might just have been an "aberration", most thought the Phillies overpaid to keep Ruiz, who turned 35 during the subsequent offseason.
2014 Before the 2014 season, he received an exemption from MLB to use Adderall, an exemption given to nine percent of MLB players despite only four percent of the American population diagnosed with the condition. After a slow start, Ruiz earned NL player of the week accolades in late April after he hit .500 during a Phillies' road trip. He sustained a
concussion on June 26 that forced him to go on the disabled list; he began a rehabilitation assignment on July 17 with the
Clearwater Threshers. On September 1, Ruiz was behind the plate for the combined no-hitter thrown by
Cole Hamels,
Jake Diekman,
Ken Giles, and
Jonathan Papelbon in a 7–0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. In 2014, Ruiz played 110 games batting .252 with six home runs and 31 RBI, and overall, had "a fine season ... [that] shouldn't get lost amid the many negatives." On October 1, 2014, Ruiz underwent a minor arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
2015 Cognizant of his increasing age and the wear catching places on one's body, the Phillies reduced Ruiz's workload during spring training, hoping to keep him fresh throughout the regular season. Regardless, he insisted upon catching pitchers' bullpen sessions so he could develop a feel and rapport with each pitcher. On July 25, Ruiz became the first catcher in the National League, and the second catcher in Major League Baseball history, to catch four
no-hitters when teammate
Cole Hamels no-hit the Chicago Cubs. Overall, Ruiz lost his starting job to
Cameron Rupp, and had significant declines in many aspects of his game, particularly those at which he previously excelled, including framing pitches – in 2015,
Baseball Prospectus ranked him worst in the league at doing so – and the mental aspect of the game, as he made several uncharacteristic errors.
2016 Los Angeles Dodgers The Phillies traded Ruiz to the
Los Angeles Dodgers on August 25, 2016, with cash considerations, for
A. J. Ellis, Tommy Bergjans, and a
player to be named later. The player to be named later turned out to be
Joey Curletta. He backed up
Yasmani Grandal with the Dodgers in September, appearing in 14 games and hitting .278. In a game against the
Minnesota Twins, Ruiz pitched in the 8th inning, giving up one run and striking out
Kennys Vargas for Ruiz's first career strikeout. On a July 7 game against the
Oakland Athletics, while in the bullpen, he caught
Nelson Cruz's 300th home run. On November 2, 2017, Ruiz elected free agency. ==Player profile==