Carlos Ruiz Receives MVP Consideration

For the past few seasons, catcher Carlos Ruiz has consistently been a valuable part on a loaded Phillies roster. Because of that, Ruiz has lived in the shadow of the more-flashy, more-recognizable names in Philadelphia such as Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Jayson Werth.

However,, Ruiz is finally garnering the attention of baseball fans, as well as the media.

In the latest voting for the National League MVP (which was won by Reds first baseman Joey Votto), four Phillies players received votes. Among them were Roy Halladay (130 points), Jayson Werth (52 points), Ryan Howard (50 points) and the unheralded man himself, Carlos Ruiz (12 points).

Chooch finished 17th in the NL MVP voting.

Ruiz was among the National League leaders in batting average with a .302 and added 53 RBI’s, eight home runs, and 43 runs in 2010. His stats, though still respectable, would have been even better had he stayed healthy throughout the season and avoided multiple trips to the DL.

The Panama native is getting better with each season, improving his totals every year. He went from a .219 hitter in 2008 to .255 in 2009, and surpassed a .300 average this past season. If this trend holds true, Ruiz could be a legitimate All-Star nominee in 2011.

But what the numbers don’t show is his ability to call a game. On two different occasions in 2010, Ruiz called a no-hitter, including a perfect game against the Florida Marlins. Following the game, both Roy Halladay and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. expressed their feelings for Ruiz.

“I think ‘Chooch’ really deserves a lot of credit,” said Amaro Jr, “I know Roy gave ‘Chooch’ a lot of credit, but for them to be able to work together like that, it’s pretty special.”

Catching two no-hitters on different occasions in the same season is not a common feat. He joins an elite club of just eight other catchers that have accomplished the feat. Among those names are Roy Campanella (1956) of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra (1951) of the New York Yankees. He is the first catcher to do so since Randy Hundley in 1972 with the Chicago Cubs.

Ruiz is certainly a threat at the plate, but his greatest asset is in the chemistry that he develops with the Philadelphia pitchers.

“He brings a tremendous amount of energy and conviction,” said pitching coaching Rich Dubee, “The bond between him and the pitchers is very, very strong.”

Now I’m not saying that Ruiz deserves to be the MVP in the National League, but I do believe he is the most valuable player “not named Roy Halladay” on the Phillies roster, which consists of multiple 100+ RBI hitters and two former MVP’s (Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins).