text: carlos ruiz ( baseball ) carlos joaquín ruiz ( born january 22 , 1979 ) is a panamanian professional baseball catcher for the philadelphia phillies of major league baseball ( mlb ) . his nicknames include chooch , bad dude and señor octubre . he grew up in david , chiriquí , panama , and resolved to play major league baseball after his father and grandmother both died within two weeks of each other when he was seven years old . he made his way through the phillies ' farm system from 1998 until 2006 , playing at each level of minor league baseball , until finally making his debut with the phillies in 2006 , fulfilling his childhood dream . he battled adversity in his progression through the system , including feeling homesick , a position change and the language barrier ( he spoke spanish , while most teammates and team officials spoke english ) . he spent his first full season in the major leagues in 2007 and has remained there since . in 2008 , for his strong postseason performance , including a walk - off hit , during the phillies playoff run that concluded with victory in the 2008 world series , he earned the nickname " señor octubre " ( mr. october ) . despite being one of the quietest players on the team , he was subsequently called the " heart and soul " of the phillies ; he serves as a constant source of encouragement and rebuke alike to his teammates . over the following seasons , he was a part of the core group of players that led the phillies to five consecutive playoff appearances from 2007 until 2011 . he had his best season in 2012 , holding a batting average of over .300 , earning his first appearance in the major league baseball all - star game , and finishing in the top 30 of the national league most valuable player voting . in 2013 , he began the season with a 25 - game suspension for using adderall , and subsequently spent time on the disabled list , ultimately playing in fewer than 100 games for the first time in his mlb career . ruiz is the only player in the national league to catch four no - hitters , and one of only two catchers in major league baseball , the other being jason varitek . early life ruiz grew up in david , panama , and was the oldest of three sons . his father was a police officer and his mother was an elementary school teacher . when he was seven years old , his father joaquin was patrolling in his police jeep when a tire blew out , causing the vehicle to flip , throwing joaquin into a ditch , and then crushing him when it fell on top of him . just weeks before , his grandmother died of cancer . as a result , ruiz became " the new father " , starting work shortly thereafter as a laborer on a coffee farm to supplement the family income , and by age 10 was earning about us $ 3 per day . he also promised his widowed mother that he would make it to major league baseball to support the family . subsequently , he began attending college to earn a degree in physical education , but dropped out shortly after he began to attend the phillies baseball academy . ruiz 's upbringing contributed to his approach to the game . his mother insisted that he excel academically , and would not allow him to play baseball unless he did well in school . baseball was his first love , and he was responsible for organizing the community 's games : " ruiz 's natural leadership skills flourished . as a boy , ruiz , who had chosen to play with baseballs instead of toy cars even as a toddler , was always the one in his neighborhood to organize pickup baseball games . it was he who brought the balls and bats , and it was he who picked the teams and ordered everyone to their positions . he had an acute understanding of the game . ruiz was made to lead , and playing catcher eventually suited him perfectly . " professional career 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 . the phillies signed him as an amateur free agent on december 4 , 1998 for us $ 8 , 000 , 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 2000 , he came to america , progressing to play in the gulf coast league ( gcl ) for the gcl phillies , and hitting .277 in 38 games . he earned another promotion in 2001 , playing for the lakewood blueclaws of class a minor league baseball . in 2001 , his performance was similar in quality to his first two seasons , and he was promoted to the clearwater threshers of class a - advanced , with whom he played over parts of the next two seasons . he struggled at the plate in 2002 , compiling just a batting average in 92 games , but hit .315 in 15 games in 2003 , and that year earned another promotion . 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 % ) . off the field , it was in 2004 that ruiz first gained the original form of his nickname " chooch " . though a quiet individual , ruiz frequently muttered " " ( a word equivalent to the f - bomb in panama ) under his breath , and teammate anderson machado thus began to address ruiz as " " , which was later shortened to " chooch " , and the nickname 's usage snowballed from there . his strong performance earned him another promotion in 2005 when he played for the triple - a scranton / wilkes - barre red barons , and posted a better batting average but fewer home runs than in reading : .300 , 4 home runs , 40 rbis in 100 games . before the 2006 season , he played for his native panama in the first world baseball classic . his final season in the minor leagues was 2006 . during 100 games , he hit .307 with 16 home runs and 69 rbis , earning international league all - star accolades . he moved back and forth between triple - a and the major league phillies all year long , making his mlb debut on may 6 , 2006 . philadelphia phillies ( 2006 – present ) 2006 ruiz was first brought up to the major league level when phillies ' starting catcher mike lieberthal went on the disabled list ( dl ) in may 2006 , and ruiz debuted on may 6 . when lieberthal returned , ruiz was sent back to the minors . when lieberthal went once again on the dl in june , the phillies used sal fasano and chris coste rather than recalling ruiz . 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 . overall , with the big league club , he hit .261 with 3 home runs and 10 rbis . 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 . " on june 26 , ruiz stole home on the front end of a double steal in an 11 – 4 home win over the cincinnati reds , becoming the first phillie to steal home since scott rolen in 1997 . he eventually played 115 games over the season , and from then on was the phillies ' regular starting catcher . statistically , he committed only two errors , which tied for second - best among mlb catchers with at least 100 games played . he had 27 multi - hit games , hit 6 home runs and 51 rbis with a .259 batting average . at the conclusion of the season , he was named to the topps all - star rookie team . 2008 ruiz entered the 2008 season focused predominantly on defense , specifically helping the pitcher : " ... ruiz invests himself in the pitcher 's performance . he and the pitcher succeed or fail together ... everything starts with pitching . ' hitting is nice , but working with the pitcher is my no. 1 job . ... i want to feel like we are one person . ' " 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 ' era when throwing to him ( catcher 's era ) was 3 . 56 , the best for any catcher in the national league ( nl ) ) , 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 . despite his struggles at the plate during the regular season , ruiz was an integral part of the phillies ' postseason success . after the phillies clinched the 2008 national league championship series , he commented that the glory of winning a crucial baseball game that clinched the series , which he had witnessed while growing up in panama on television , " happened to me " , noting the aura of the moment , and that it culminated and validated the hard work he had put in over the years . 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 ) . 2009 initially , ruiz elected not to play in the 2009 world baseball classic , but after receiving a call from martín torrijos , the president of panama , he agreed to play for the panamanian team . early in the season , he suffered a muscle strain in his right oblique , which lost him playing time while on the disabled list . also early in the season , there was debate as to who should be the phillies starting catcher , ruiz or chris coste . rob neyer summarized the debate and ultimately endorsed ruiz when he wrote , " it 's ruiz who has established himself as the superior hitter , almost solely because we expect him to draw more walks than coste . yes , coste does have superior stats as a major leaguer ... but he is 36 , and with a couple of exceptions he 's not fared all that well in the high minors . meanwhile , [ sic ] is six years younger and he 's been relatively impressive in the high minors . " ultimately , ruiz was the regular starter . he finished the season on a hot streak ; over the last 24 games , he hit .355 with 9 doubles , 1 home run , 11 rbis , and .446 on - base percentage ( obp ) . in late september , he missed a week of games with inflammation in his left wrist . 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 . moreover , he walked more times than he struck out , a rare feat among modern major league hitters . in the postseason , he led the team with a .341 batting average , and recorded a obp , having reached base in each of the phillies ' 15 games , which perpetuated the usage of his nickname " señor octubre " . marcus hayes of the philadelphia daily news wrote that ruiz is " ... the phillies ' senor octubre , a no. 8 hitter who hits like john buck in the regular season , then turns into johnny bench come autumn . " 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 . he led the team with a .302 batting average and a .400 on - base percentage . both statistics also led national league catchers , and he even received a few votes for nl most valuable player . 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 ( winning percentage ) . in may , he spent time on the dl with inflammation in his lower back . over the phillies ' final 36 games , he posted a .342 batting average . overall , he finished with the best catcher 's era in the major leagues ( 3 . 06 ) , a .283 batting average , 6 home runs , and 40 rbis . his batting average was second on the team trailing only hunter pence . 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 . he led all nl catchers in doubles , en route to posting a .325 batting average with 16 home runs and 68 rbis , all of which were career highs . he finished 28th in mvp voting , the third consecutive season he had received votes . 2013 on november 27 , 2012 , ruiz was suspended for 25 games without pay by the mlb for testing positive for an amphetamine called adderall . the suspension of ruiz was effective at the start of the 2013 season . 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 , and hit .288 over the final two months of the season , commensurate with his past performance . 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 us $ 26 , 000 , 000 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 . it was the third no - hitter caught by ruiz in his career , which ties him for second in major league history behind jason varitek , who caught four . 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 . player profile batting offensively , ruiz developed from a " bottom - of - the - order hitter " , to a patient hitter inclined to work the count , and finally to a hitter with solid gap - to - gap power . ruiz has strong plate discipline that helps him draw walks and avoid strikeouts ; he has almost as many walks as strikeouts over the course of his career , a rarity in the modern era of baseball . however , as his career progressed and he hit more towards the middle of the lineup , he has taken a more aggressive approach at the plate , and consequently he has struck out more often , but his home run totals have also increased . in 2014 , his versatility and production at the plate encouraged his manager , ryne sandberg , to utilize him in various spots ranging from second through seventh in the batting order . at the prime of his career , he was among the best hitting catchers in mlb . entering 2014 , ruiz had stolen only 16 bases over his first eight seasons ; he had never been particularly fast , which initially caused his conversion from infielder to catcher , but because of his " hustle " on the basepaths , he won the major league baseball players alumni association heart and hustle award in 2012 . catching when catching , ruiz seeks to become " one " with the day 's pitcher ; he takes their successes and failures personally , refusing to blame pitchers , and accepts equal responsibility . phillies pitchers trust ruiz and his ability to call games , and this ability 's improvement has coincided with his increased proficiency in english . cole hamels attributes ruiz 's prowess in calling games to astute preparation , commenting , " i think he 's very aware of what the hitter is trying to do in each count . he gives you a good target . it 's almost like he understands what you 're thinking and he 's speaking to you without saying anything . ... if a catcher can help you , it makes your job so much easier and he can do that so well . " ruiz realizes the importance of his role with the phillies , opining , " it 's the catcher 's job to bring energy and happiness to the game . " ruiz has a good throwing arm that has improved over the years ; over the course of his career he has thrown out 29 % of attempted base stealers , which is exactly the average percentage of hitters thrown out by catchers . playing style a sports illustrated piece featuring ruiz published in july 2011 encapsulated ruiz 's role as " heart and soul " of the team : the most silent and timid phillie might even become — by consensus of teammates and in the words of closer brad lidge — " the heart and soul of this team . " the player who was the runaway winner in a team poll asking phillies whom — if they were batman — they 'd choose as their robin , proving that his effect extends far beyond his superhero pitching staff . the player who circulated in the clubhouse asking them how their families were doing , and how their hearts and minds and bodies felt . the man who went to each player in the dugout as each game was about to start to exchange a new touch : knuckles yesterday , low - fives today , fist pounds to their hearts tomorrow , so hard that they 'd yearn for his chest protector . the one who tore into them when they were lax and what team leaders chase utley and halladay kept tight under wraps . the one taking charge as if he has been here forever and yet still asking questions as if he has just been called up . the most endearing player to the sold - out crowds at citizens bank park every night , even when his average dips to .255 , as it has this season , crossing a cultural moat that hispanic players often can 't — the phillie whom bartender tubby kushner impersonates every game he attends , from uniform down to the shin guards , chest protector , mask and , yes , even cup — because fans feel like he 's their little secret , their little golden nugget . he is a favorite among phillies fans , and crossed " a cultural moat that hispanic players often can 't " to endear himself to not only the fan base , but also his teammates . before games , he humorously imitates teammates to help keep the team loose and relaxed , furthering his role as a leader . overall , ruiz " is a man who refuses to conceal his emotions " , positive or negative , and serves as a constant source of encouragement and rebuke alike to his teammates .