Welcome Senor Octubre
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Carlos Ruiz kind of looks like someone you would call “Chooch.” He’s on the short stubby side, very unassuming, and if you didn’t know he played for the Phillies when he’s in street clothes, you’d assume he did something else for a living. But certainly not a professional athlete.
But he may actually be the most unsung hero of this magical team, in the midst of what is a Golden Age of Philadelphia Phillies’ baseball. Ruiz seems like the kind of player that die-hard fans will remember as the Tonka-toy like gutsy, competitive backbone of a team filled with stars. He won’t be the first who comes to mind.
But what we’ll remember most is Ruiz’s penchant for coming up with large hits in October. We’ll recall that Ruiz as the one who provided the improbable first walk-off infield single in World Series history last October. He added to his lore in the first game of the National League Championship series Thursday night against the Dodgers by banging a three-run homer.
Ruiz snapped open the flood gates, during a time when the Phillies had done hardly anything offensively against Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw.
Ruiz had a career-high nine home runs in the regular season, though had a poor history against Kershaw, walking twice, but never had a hit against him. That is, until he slammed Kershaw’s 3-1 pitch into the stands during the fifth inning that got the Phillies’ offense going.
Getting off to great starts is what aided the Phillies in winning the World Series last year. The Phils won each of their Game One playoff series, and that carried over into the World Series. They’ve followed the same formula this season, beating Colorado in Game One and now taking the Dodgers in Game One of the NLCS.
Ruiz’s homer did more than jumpstart the Phils’ moribund up until that point. It rattled Kershaw and took him completely out of the game. He followed by walking Cole Hamels next, and later in the same inning gave up a two-run double to Ryan Howard—not to mention throw three wild pitches in the same inning, a new League Championship Series game record.
It’s Ruiz who settles the pitchers, who calls the shots from the perch of one of the toughest positions in sports. There’s a strong, strong chance that 15, 20 years from now, Carlos Ruiz won’t be a trivia question on who caught the Philadelphia Phillies during their numerous World Series runs.
We’ll know it was Chooch. Or by then, Senor Octubre.
TAKE A LOOK AT L.A. NEXT TIME MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Next time know-it-all columnists who think they know the pulse and passion of Philadelphia sports fans go down the critical road, bashing the behavior of fans in this city, they should take a good hard look at the buffoons who inhabit Dodgers Stadium.
I’ve already heard myriad tales of the bozos there trying to intimidate Phillies fans with their boorish acts of cowardice, like pushing around women wearing Phillies’ hats, and telling Phillies’ fans not to cheer for their team if they know what’s best for them.
I’d love to take the toughest group of that lot and have them walk around the parking lot prior to an Eagles’ game dressed in Dodgers’ gear. Then we’ll see who the real tough guys are.
Joseph Santoliquito is an Emmy Award-nominated writer based in the Philadelphia area who can be contacted at Jsantoliquito@yahoo.com.
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