Darin Ruf Named August Player of the Month

Portland, ME - The Eastern League is pleased to announce that Reading Phillies first baseman and outfielder Darin Ruf has been named the Eastern League Player of the Month for the month of August. Darin batted .371 (43-for-116) with five doubles, 20 home runs, 36 RBI, 28 runs scored, a .451 on-base percentage and a .931 slugging percentage in 31 games during the month for the R-Phils. The 26-year old tied Sammy Sosa's professional baseball record of 20 home runs in a single month with his power output in August. His 20th home run of the month also placed Ruf in the Reading history books as it was his 38th home run of the season, which broke the R-Phils single-season record of 37 home runs that was set by Ryan Howard in 2004. Darin also finished the season with 303 total bases, which broke the franchise record of 287 that was set by Greg Luzinski in 1970. Ruf, who is a native of Omaha, Nebraska, led all Eastern League players in home runs (20), RBI (36), runs scored (28), total bases (108), extra-base hits (25), slugging percentage (.931), on-base percentage (.451) and OPS (1.382) during the month of August and also ranked among the leaders in hits (43-2nd) and batting average (.371-3rd).

The 6'3", 220 lb. slugger was named the Eastern League MVP and Rookie of the Year after hitting .317 (155-for-489) with 32 doubles, 38 homers, 104 RBI and 93 runs scored in 139 games while leading the R-Phils to their second consecutive postseason appearance and a second place finish in the Eastern Division. Ruf also won the Eastern League Player of the Week Award for the periods of May 7th-13th and August 13th-19th, was the first baseman on the Eastern League All-Star Team and started at first base for the Eastern Division in the 2012 Baseballtown All-Star Classic and went 1-for-1 with one doubles, one RBI, one run scored and one walk.

Darin was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 20th round of the 2009 draft after he batted .331 (275-for-832) with 57 doubles, 27 home runs, 201 RBI and 159 runs scored in 227 games during four seasons at Creighton University.

Darin Ruf's Statistics - August 2012

Darin Ruf's Statistics - 2012 Season