Randy Ruiz
In the time before Rowdy Tellez...
I do remember a segment of the fanbase talking themselves into Randy Ruiz during the 2009-10 offseason but I don’t remember it like this. I mean, look at this take. In my first paragraph of this new substack or whatever, I have to give way to another writer, this Ian McDonnell of Bleacher Report:
"I don’t like Jose Bautista, but who else can lead off and play good enough defense? In a perfect world Adam Lind could, and the DH could be filled by Randy Ruiz so we can see what he can do with 500 at-bats. That isn’t the case, of course. The world isn’t perfect."
A PERFECT WORLD WHERE WE NEVER SEE JOSE HIT 54 HOME RUNS IN 2010 AND WATCH RANDY RUIZ PLAY EVERY DAY INSTEAD.
Even in an imperfect world, Ruiz was being talked about leading up to the 2010 season. The previous year, his first with Toronto, Ruiz hit .313 with 10 homers in a briefish 130 plate appearance season. The big righty hitter (listed 6’3”, 250 lb) looked like a potential compliment to lefties Lind and Lyle Overbay if you squinted hard enough and if you squinted really, really hard, you seen a future where Randy Ruiz takes Sam Dyson deep.
Ruiz joined the organization on the same day minor league contracts were announced for Michael Barrett (!) and former 20 game loser Mike Maroth (!!!), the latter of which I have no recollection of as a Jay. Ruiz broke into the big leagues with the Twins a year before after a good minor league career offensively. He hit .303 in the minors prior to his signing and won batting titles in rookie ball (2000) and Double-A (2005), however, he was suspended twice in 2005 for violating the steroid policy. Once for 15 days and the second for 30. Somewhere, Chris Colabello weeps.
Sent down after spring to play in extreme hitter friendly conditions in Triple-A Las Vegas, Ruiz mashed in Triple-A with a broadcast line of .320/25 HR/106 RBI. He immediately improved the team when he was called up to take the roster spot of Alex Rios, who was recently picked up off waivers by Kenny Williams like a slice of pizza that stayed on the counter overnight.
The Bronx-born Ruiz homered off Joba Chamberlain in Yankee Stadium in his Blue Jays debut. His first as a Jay put the team up 4-3, a lead that was blown when Hideki Matsui took Jesse Carlson deep, ruining a quality start by Scott Richmond (bonus names!). He followed that up with a home run off former Jay AJ Burnett the next night and put together a good offensive season, despite being hit in the face during an at bat in September by Josh Towers*, who was trying to find new ways to keep the ball out of play.
*This was Towers’ Yankees debut and the second-last major league appearance for certainly a future inductee.
Now 32, Ruiz entered spring training the following year in Dunedin with the most momentum his career had ever had in making a big league roster. New general manager and future GOAT Alex Anthopoulos was clear that Ruiz had a chance to make the team as a right handed bat. Ruiz made the team but during a subpar season in which he appeared in only 13 games and 40 plate appearances, he was released. The team did so to allow him to sign in Japan, where he spent the rest of the year in Rakuten and thus, Ruiz' Blue Jay and major league career simply came to a wrap.
He hit well in Japan and in stints with the Diamondbacks’ and Yankees’ Triple-A affiliates in 2012 and 2013 but Ruiz was by then 35, although he continued playing until he was 40 with brief appearances in the Puerto Rican winter league. His stats give off beer league call-me-if-you-need-me vibes and he played in only 13, 10, and three games during his final three seasons. Ruiz finished his career with 325 career home runs across 20 seasons.
It is sad that we live in an imperfect world and never seen Randy Ruiz play every day instead of having these cherished memories of an adequate potential leadoff hitter named Jose Bautista but in addition to a lengthy professional baseball career, Ruiz is a Blue Jay to Remember.