text: darin ruf darin cortland ruf ( born july 28 , 1986 ) is an american professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the philadelphia phillies of major league baseball . he was born in omaha , nebraska , and played at westside high school . subsequently , he attended creighton university , and excelled playing baseball there before the phillies drafted him in 2009 . in the minor leagues , he initially hit for a high batting average , but in 2011 combined that with power numbers to become one of the phillies ' top prospects . he made his major league debut in september 2012 , after having hit 38 home runs to lead the eastern league . in 2013 , he split time between triple - a and the major league phillies , and was among the league 's top rookies during the season . he was embroiled in a roster battle for a bench spot entering 2014 , but hurt his oblique , and landed on the disabled list prior to the season . early life and career ruf was born on july 28 , 1986 to parents bill and mary ruf in omaha , nebraska ; he has four siblings ( one of which is older , the rest younger ) . he attended westside high school , where he helped the team win a nebraska state championship his sophomore season and finish as the runner - up his senior year . he also played football and basketball , and was the captain of the baseball and football teams – during his senior season , he achieved all - state honors in both football and basketball . after his senior season , he committed to play baseball at creighton for its " combination of athletics and academics " ; there , he was a " standout " over his four seasons , serving as the squad 's first baseman . even in ruf 's freshman season ( 2006 ) , he started all 52 games . his sophomore season ( 2007 ) drew him significant accolade – he was named the missouri valley conference ( mvc ) player of the year , a member of both the first - team all conference squad , and a first - team all - conference scholar athlete . he also was named an all - star for his performance in summer collegiate baseball , for which he was a member of the wisconsin of the northwoods league . his strong performance continued during his junior season ( 2008 ) , during which he compiled a 15 - game hitting streak that contributed to his .347 season batting average . his collegiate career culminated in 2009 , when he was named to the second - team all - mvc team and a third - team academic - all american by espn . overall , he is " all over the record books , finishing second in rbi with 201 , third in total bases with 423 and in hits with 275 , sixth in walks with 135 , seventh in doubles with 57 and tied for 10th in home runs with 27 ... ( he ) started all 227 games in his career . " while at creighton , he earned a degree in finance , compiled a 3 . 51 grade point average ( gpa ) , and aspired to be a successful businessman . professional career minor leagues ( 2009 – 11 ) ruf was drafted by the philadelphia phillies in the 20th round of the 2009 major league baseball draft . after the phillies drafted him , scouting director marti asserted that ruf " is an outstanding defensive first baseman with a chance to hit and has tremendous makeup . " after converting to play predominantly in the outfield , however , ruf 's fielding has been characterized as either " serviceable " or " weak " , and phillies general manager rubén amaro , jr. commented that he did not have the defensive skills to play every day . his first professional assignment was the gcl phillies in 2009 ; after performing well there , he was promoted to the williamsport crosscutters of short season a. with both squads , he held a batting average of over .300 . he also participated in the florida instructional league . in 2010 , he began the season with the lakewood blueclaws , also of class a , but spent only 32 games there . the phillies promoted him to the class a - advanced clearwater threshers , and was the phillies ' minor league player of the week in late may . in total , he amassed nine home runs and 67 runs batted in ( rbis ) while posting a .290 amalgamated batting average . his power emergence began in 2011 when he hit a florida state league - leading 43 doubles , as well as 17 home runs and 82 rbis and a .308 batting average . defensively , he played first base , third base , and left field , and even pitched two innings of relief during a 23 - inning game . after the season , he played in the arizona fall league for the scottsdale scorpions . philadelphia phillies ( 2012 – present ) ruf enjoyed great success playing for the reading phillies ( since renamed the reading fightin phils ) in 2012 , earning eastern league most valuable player ( mvp ) honors , as well as the paul owens award , which is given to the best player in the phillies ' minor league system . during the season , the fightin phils sold t - shirts that said " babe ruf " , a reference to babe ruth . he led the eastern league with 38 home runs and 104 rbis , and tied for the league lead by playing in 139 games and 11 sacrifice flies , all en route to earning a september callup and making his major league debut on september 14 ( skipping the triple - a level entirely ) . he recorded his first major league hit on september 25 , a home run off the washington nationals ' ross detwiler . ruf totaled three home runs and 10 rbis in his 12 - game " cup of coffee " at the end of the season . an article on phillies nation summarized his season and journey through the minor league system : darin ruf slugged his way onto the scene about midway through the 2012 season with the reading phillies ; it wasn ’ t as though ruf was some highly - touted prospect everyone knew about . really , he was an afterthought at 26 years old ; a guy who was just kind of there . that all changed . ruf started the 2013 season in triple - a with the lehigh valley ironpigs , but was recalled by the phillies on july 6 when ryan howard was placed on the disabled list . at the major league level , he finished fifth among rookies with 14 home runs , nine of which were in august , the most among any major league player during that stretch . of his 70 starts at the major league level , 28 were at first base , 27 in right field , and 16 in left field , while of his 78 starts in triple - a , 59 came in left field and 19 came at first base . ruf struggled to find a spot on the phillies roster at which he could contribute , despite strong performance : " even after proving he can be a productive offensive contributor and showing his defensive versatility , ruf 's spot in the phils ’ lineup may not be locked in for next season . " one columnist wrote . entering the 2014 season , he was set to compete for a spot on the bench , as amaro declared that he was not good enough , particularly defensively , to play everyday . however , the phillies placed him on the disabled list ( dl ) due to a strained oblique ; his estimated recovery time was around the end of april or the beginning of may . when ruf returned , he played for the ironpigs , but suffered another injury on june 3 , fracturing his left wrist when sliding into the wall while playing left field . he returned to the major league phillies on july 22 when john mayberry , jr. landed on the disabled list , but struggled in his first several games ; in his first 17 at - bats , he had just two hits . nevertheless , the phillies toyed with platooning him with ryan howard , who was also struggling , at first base , and ruf also played two innings at third base . overall , ruf amassed only 117 major league plate appearances , and was significantly hindered by injuries . as 2015 began , ruf once again had to fight for playing time ; there was no clear opening for him on the phillies ' roster , notwithstanding the fact that he was one of the few players on the roster with the ability to hit for power . on may 13 , 2016 , ruf was optioned to triple - a in exchange for tommy joseph . player profile eric , a baseball analyst for crashburn alley , asserts that ruf 's ceiling is a platoon player at first base , but that his superior intangibles have allowed him to overachieve in terms of his potential . he wrote , for him to be anything more than that would be positively historic . we ’ ve never seen a player of this age with a similar skill set ( a fringe average hitter with a huge hole in his swing and plus raw power who is a 20 runner with pretty much unknown arm strength ) do anything sustainable of note at the major league level . ruf turns 28 halfway through next year and possesses both a skillset and body that typically don ’ t age well . it 's a very weird situation but it 's a triumph of the phillies player development system and of ruf 's effort that he ever put on a major league uniform at all . offense ruf is a strong power hitter who , according to one talent evaluator quoted in lindy 's sports 2014 baseball preview magazine , possesses " raw country strength " at the plate . he has an uppercut swing , and struggles to hit outside pitches because of poor balance at the plate , but consequently , is able to hit fly balls and drive mistake pitches out of the park . he is a patient hitter , but is the opposite of many hitters , in that as a right - handed hitter , he hits left - handed pitchers better than right - handed pitchers . defense ruf has played first base as well as both of the corner outfield spots during his career , and focused on the outfield during the latter stages of his development because of ryan howard 's perceived preeminence at first base . in the outfield , ruf is a " liability " , and he is " pretty shaky " at first base , further underscoring his " man without a position " persona within the phillies ' organization . this has led some to suggest he would be better suited as a designated hitter in the american league . personal life ruf 's wife is libby , whom ruf married in december 2011 . his hobbies include golfing and traveling . during the offseason , he resides in his hometown of omaha , nebraska . christa ruf , ruf 's sister , also attended creighton ; she played softball there for four seasons .