Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Darin Ruf was born on July 28, 1986, in Omaha, Nebraska. He is an infielder in the MLB.

He played at Westside High School. Subsequently, he attended Creighton University, and excelled playing baseball there, and was named the 2007 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Player of the Year. The Philadelphia Phillies drafted him in the 20th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. 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. In 2012 he led the minor leagues (and the Eastern League) with 38 home runs, and was the Eastern League Most Valuable Player. He made his major league debut in 2012. In 2013, he split time between Triple-A and the major league Phillies. 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. In 2017 he led the Korea Baseball Organization in RBIs.

On January 23, 2020, Ruf signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants. He made the team's opening day roster. He finished the season batting .276/.370/.517 with 5 home runs and 18 RBIs in 87 at bats over 40 games.

For the 2021 season, the Giants extended Ruf through one-year arbitration on a $1.275 million deal. In the 2021 regular season, he batted .271/.385/.519 with 16 home runs and 43 RBIs in 262 at bats. He played 44 games at first base, 33 games in left field, 5 games in right field, and pitched in one game.