Randy Ruiz

Randy Radames Ruiz

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 235 lb.
• School Maple Woods Community College, Bellevue University
• High School James Monroe High School (Bronx)
• Debut August 1, 2008
• Final Game May 17, 2010
• Born October 19, 1977 in Bronx, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Randy Ruiz signed with the Cincinnati Reds in 1999 and made his pro debut that summer with the GCL Reds. The next season, in 2000, he hit .381 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs with the Billings Mustangs and captured the Pioneer League batting crown. He was with the Dayton Dragons in 2001 and was named to the Midwest League All-Star team after hitting .268 with 20 homers and 92 RBI. After playing another year in the Reds system, he spent 2003 in the Baltimore Orioles organization.

Ruiz moved to the Philadelphia Phillies farm system in 2004 and hit .286 with the Lakewood Blue Claws while leading the team with 17 home runs and 91 RBI. He hit .349 with the Reading Phillies the next year to win the Eastern League hitting title and had a career-best 27 homers and 89 RBI. In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, he hit .346/.452/.654 for [Puerto Rican national team|Puerto Rico]] as a DH/1B. However, over the course of the next two years, he bounced around between five organizations.

Ruiz made his major league debut on August 1, 2008, with the Minnesota Twins, going 1 for 3 as the team's designated hitter in a game against the Cleveland Indians. Moving to the Toronto Blue Jays organization in 2009, he impressed by being named MVP of the AAA Las Vegas 51s. When Alex Rios was let go on waivers in mid-August, he was called up to Toronto and installed as the team's designated hitter with Adam Lind moving to the outfield. He immediately showed good power and surprising athleticism for a big man, hitting .313 with 10 homers in 115 at-bats. However, he could not reproduce that success the following season, as he hit just .150 in 13 games. Ruiz was released by the Blue Jays on May 19, 2010. With the Blue Jays, he hit a lone home run, had one RBI, and had a .150 batting average. He was quickly signed by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japan Pacific League.

Notable Achievements

• 2009 MVP Pacific Coast League Las Vegas 51s

Further Reading

• Mark Zwolinski: "Randy Ruiz released by Blue Jays, heads to Japan", The Toronto Star, May 19, 2010. [1]

Related Sites

• Randy Ruiz on mlb.com