Latest news with #careerendinginjury
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Former MLB player Darin Ruf sues Reds over injury caused by running into tarp in 2023
Former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Darin Ruf is suing the Cincinnati Reds for damages as a result of what he described as a career-ending injury suffered when he ran into a tarp at Great American Ball Park in 2023. According to the Associated Press, Ruf's attorney filed a lawsuit in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas that charged the Reds with negligence in failing to maintain safe field conditions. The lawsuit specifically cites an unpadded metal tarp roller. Advertisement A Cincinnati Reds spokesperson said Thursday evening that the team had no comment on the lawsuit. On June 2, 2023, in a game between the Reds and Brewers, Ruf chased after a Kevin Newman foul pop fly but ran into the tarp as the ball was coming down near the netting that separates the playing field from the stands along the right-field line. Ruf ran into the tarp and tarp roller, which was covered by an orange advertisement for Gorilla Glue. Although Ruf walked off the field under his own power, there was a visible blood stain on his right knee after running into the tarp. The complaint claims Ruf suffered 'permanent and substantial deformities to his knee.' 'This didn't need to happen,' Ruf said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. 'I wish it didn't happen. Players shouldn't have to worry about hidden hazards like that on a major-league field.' Ruf played seven games that September for the Brewers' Triple-A Nashville affiliate. The injury occurred less than two months from Ruf's 37th birthday. He was in just his 11th game with the Brewers. Ruf was released by the New York Mets in April of that year before signing with the San Francisco Giants. He played nine games with the Giants before he refused an assignment to the minor leagues and was granted free agency. In his 20 big-league games that season, Ruf hit .224 with no home runs in 57 plate appearances between 20 games with the Giants and Brewers. He hit .204 with 11 home runs in 118 games with the Giants and Mets in 2022. Ruf debuted with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2012. The Phillies traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2016 season and sold his rights to the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization. After three seasons with the Lions, Ruf returned to the United States after signing a free-agent contract with the Giants.
Fox News
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Former MLB player suing ex-division rival over career-ending injury: 'Obvious and avoidable risk'
An ex-Major League Baseball player is blaming a former opponent for his career-ending injury. Darin Ruf played first base for the Milwaukee Brewers June 2, 2023, in a game against the NL Central rival Cincinnati Reds. Little did he know it would be the final game of his career. In the third inning, Ruf was chasing a pop-up in foul territory when his knee crashed into the end of the field tarp roller. Ruf badly cut his knee and limped off the field with the help of a trainer. Ruf's complaint says the end of the tarp roller was made of sharp metal and had no protective cushioning or cap. The TV broadcast of the game said there was a "significant hunk of metal … that doesn't give very much." Ruf went on the 60-day injured list and never played in the major leagues again. His initial injury, aside from the laceration, was ruled a non-displaced fracture of his patella. But, according to Ruf's complaint, he suffered "permanent and substantial deformities to his knee." "This didn't need to happen," Ruf said in a statement. "I wish it didn't happen. Players shouldn't have to worry about hidden hazards like that on a major league field." "This was an obvious and avoidable risk," Tad Thomas, Ruf's attorney, said in a release announcing the lawsuit. "There are basic safety protocols every MLB team should follow. Leaving an unpadded metal roller on the edge of the field is inexcusable." The Reds did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The situation is similar to Dustin Fowler's. In his major league debut in 2017, he injured a knee in Chicago after running into an electrical box while chasing down a pop fly. Fowler, who would have led off the next inning for his first plate appearance in the majors, sued the White Sox for negligence. The Yankees traded him roughly a month after the injury for Sonny Gray, and Fowler's first MLB hit came against Gray the next year. Ruf, 38, played in the majors from 2012 to 2023 with the Philadelphia Phillies (2012-16), San Francisco Giants (2020-22, 2023), New York Mets (2022) and Brewers (2023). He batted .239 with a .329 on-base percentage, 67 homers and 205 RBI in 582 career games. At the time of the injury, Ruf was playing in his 11th game with the Brewers after playing in nine games in his second stint with the Giants. He had been designated for assignment by San Francisco before joining Milwaukee. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
