Where Does Carlos Ruiz Stand In Phillies History?

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Carlos Ruiz returned to Philadelphia in a Mariners uniform and received standing ovation from the fans.  Ruiz played in 1,069 Games during his time in Philadelphia where he was the man behind the plate for the team's run of success from 2007-2011.  With his return to Citizens Bank Park, some have questioned where he stands among the Phillies' best Catchers over the last 40 years.  Bob Boone was a 3-time All-Star and won two Gold Gloves during his ten years in Philadelphia.  Darren Daulton was also a 3-time All-Star selection in his 14 years in a Phillies uniform while winning a Silver Slugger award.  In Mike Lieberthal's 13 seasons in a Phillies uniform he was a 2-time All-Star selection and was awarded a Gold Glove.  Ruiz has only one All-Star selection and lacks the awards or statistics that could put him ahead of the other three Catchers on the all-time list for the position.

USA Today Baseball Writer Steve Gardner joined Rich Quinones on Wednesday and discussed Carlos Ruiz standing among the top Phillies catchers of the last 40 years along with fan reaction to "Chooch" return to Citizens Bank Park:

"I'd say I might put him behind all of those guys.  Daulton had his moments and probably a shorter (time) but higher peak for him.  Chooch has got the longevity like (Bob) Boone has and Lieberthal was solid.  So it's tough to really rank them there but certainly a nice moment when he came to bat and they played his walk up music which was kind of cool, a nice little tribute, I saw some of the signs in the crowd.  It just shows you can be not a superstar by any means but still be a fan favorite and certainly the Phillies' fans did not forget Carlos Ruiz."

Checkout what Gardner had to say about Matt Harvey's present and future with the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs in 2017, and CC Sabathia's future with the Yankees