Former MLB player Darin Ruf is suing the the Cincinnati Reds over a tarp he claims caused his career-ending injury two years ago, according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit was reportedly filed Thursday in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas. It reportedly accuses the Reds of negligence for failing to maintain safe field conditions, specifically noting the risks presented by an unpadded metal tarp roller at Great American Ball Park.
Ruf encountered that tarp while playing first base for the Milwaukee Brewers on June 2, 2023. He tracked a foul ball toward the first-base stands and hit the tarp hard, leaving him with a deep laceration in his right knee and a non-displaced patella fracture.
His lawsuit reportedly describes the damage as “permanent and substantial deformities to his knee.”
Ruf attempted to return later that season, hitting .120 in seven games on a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, but never played another MLB game again. He did not sign with a team after becoming a free agent that winter.
He now blames the Reds for leaving a large metal object in the field of play, via the AP:
“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.”
His lawyer said the same:
“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.”
Ruf played a total of nine seasons total in his MLB career. He began his career mostly as a bench bat at the corners for the Philadelphia Phillies before moving to South Korea’s KBO and finding immense success with the Samsung Lions.
That success continued upon Ruf’s return to MLB, as he enjoyed the two best seasons of his career with the San Francisco Giants in 2021. He was one of many overperforming bats that powered the Giants to a 107-win season that unseated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Ruf struggled after that, in stints with the Giants, Brewers and New York Mets across 2022 and 2023. It was unclear how much further he could have gone while hitting .224 in his age-36 season, but no player wants to end his career like he did.
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