SI finally giving unsung hero Chooch his due

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Technically, Carlos Ruiz has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated three times now. There was the one where he was pummeled by Rocco Baldelli at the plate during the 2008 World Series and another where he was running to the mound to embrace Brad Lidge after the final pitch of the World Series.

But in this weeks regional edition of the popular sports magazine, Chooch gets the solo gig during a rather eventful seven daysand the full Gary Smith treatment, too. That means a long, meandering page-turner ripe with lyrical prose that sports fans seem to enjoy but rarely get to sink into in our digital age.

Nevertheless, its good to learn what Smith was doing hanging around the Phillies for the past few weeks, but its interesting to know that he was following the team because he was writing about Chooch.

YeahCarlos Ruiz.

What makes that interesting is that when he got his first extended looks in the majors he was looked at as a stop gap until the Phillies could develop a catcher to properly replace Mike Lieberthal. Who would have guessed that a few years later people would mention Ruiz with Bob Boone, Darren Daulton and Andy Seminick as the all-time great catchers in franchise history?

Who would have guessed that Gary Smith and Sports Illustrated would carve out room for Chooch in Derek Jeter's terrain? (Jeter is on the national cover.)

Before Sports Illustrated showed up though, Ruiz may have been one of the best-kept secrets in the league. During last years playoffs, national media types were intrigued when players on the Phillies would explain how Carlos Ruiz, an overachieving catcher, was the MVP on the team. What was it about Ruiz that made his teammates and the hardcore Philly fans take notice and fall in love?

Just what is the explanation for the guys popularity?

Oh sure, the numbers were there, but not quite to the extreme of his postseason stats. He has a colorful nickname that fits into the halcyon of the great catchers in history. There was Buck, Gabby, Mickey, Yogi, Campy, Johnny, Kid, Pudge Fisk and Pudge Rodriguez.

Certainly if there is one player to understand what it was about Chooch it had to be Pudge. Pudge Rodriguez, the veteran from Puerto Rico, often regarded as the best backstop of his generation in a line of great catchers with fantastic nicknames, has done it all. Hes a 14-time All-Star, one-time AL MVP and probable first-ballot Hall of Famer. Modern catchers do not come any more esteemed or well-rounded than Rodriguez.

Still, in his fifth full big-league season after being converted from an infielder to catcher, Chooch Ruiz isnt any threat to Pudges 10 seasons in which he batted .300 or his 13 Gold Glove Awards. Ruiz is 32 and the quintessential late-bloomer who really wasnt seen as a prospect until a breakout year for Double A Reading in 2004.

As a big leaguer, Ruizs breakout came during the 2008 postseason, when he batted .344 in the NLCS and the World Series with three doubles and a home run. His postseason success continued in 2009 with three more doubles, a triple and two homers.

Actually, when it comes to October, there are very few catchers in baseball history as good as Carlos Joaquin Ruiz. His .353 batting average and 1.194 OPS in 11 World Series games is nothing to sneeze at. Mix in 16 games in the NLCS and Ruizs average holds steady at .309, with 11 of his 25 hits going for extra bases.

Even the great Johnny Bench hit only .266 in the postseason.

Pudge Rodriguez knows all about Chooch Ruiz, and acknowledgement from Pudge played louder than any Choooooooch! cheer from the fans at Citizens Bank Park.

Hes a popular player because he plays the game hard, Rodriguez said. He calls good games and he does the job every day. Hes a fan favorite because he plays hard and does the things he needs to do. Hes being playing great since he got to the big leagues and hes also doing a tremendous job in the playoffs.

Pudge shrugged as if this was all common knowledge around big league clubhouses. But because of his better known teammates, Ruiz is often overlooked in the Phillies lineup. The fact that he hit .302 last season and reached base at a .400 clip is a bit of a surprise. However, to those familiar with Ruizs role with the Phillies, to call him the MVP of the 2010 regular season is not really as outlandish as it sounds. In fact, reigning Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay did a commercial with a poster of Ruiz because of the idea that the two are joined at the hip on the diamond.

Sure, there are things that fans grasp onto, like Ruizs serious demeanor, earnestness and unquenchable desire to win baseball games. He talks to his mother at home in Panama every day, often about his hopes for his teammates. Ruiz is like the fans in that he is selfless in his desire for the Phillies to do well.

He is like some fans in that he might care too much. But who can fault him for taking it so seriously? Bullpen coach and catching instructor Mick Billmeyer says if there is one fault Ruiz has in his game its that he cares a lot. If a pitcher has a bad outing, Billmeyer says Ruiz looks at it as a reflection on himself. Even when pitchers shake him off, Ruiz takes it seriously, if not personally.

Even though Phillies pitchers have held the opponents to a .239 batting average with Ruiz behind the dish, including a miniscule .207 from Cliff Lee and .213 from Cole Hamels, its those 515 hits in more than 579 innings behind the plate that Ruiz takes to heart.

In fact, pitching coach Rich Dubee says Chooch takes hits by the opposition as a personal affront.

He takes it very personally, Dubee said. In the years here he has grown so much as a catcher its phenomenal. Hes the leader of our club back there defensively. He takes charge and hes not afraid to sell his case and explain to pitchers what hes seeing and they have great trust in him.

The main reason why the Phillies have a 3 lead over the Braves in the NL East is because the teams pitching has been so good. With guys like All-Stars Lee, Halladay and Hamels heading up the starting rotation, the Phillies pitching is as deep as any team in the majors. But its not like Ruiz squats behind the plate and waits for the ball to arrive. No, hes an active participant in the teams pitching success.

The truth is Halladay, Lee and Hamels might not be as good without Ruiz back there.

He has a lot of intangibles. One is he has really good vision back there. He has a great sense of where hitters are trying to go and what hitters are trying to do. Thats vitally important for a front-line catcher, Dubee said. Another thing he does is he puts a lot of energy into whatever he puts down for a pitch.

Most telling is how much credit Halladay gave Ruiz after his perfect game last May as well as his no-hitter in Game 1 of the NLDS. But bigger than that is how well inexperienced big leaguers like Antonio Bastardo, Michael Stutes and Vance Worley have thrived with Ruizs guidance.

With the injuries to Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras, Bastardo has taken over the closers role, and he might not give it back. In 12 save situations, Bastardo has yet to allow a run and so far this season has given up just three runs in 38 appearances (0.83 ERA). In 28 games in which the 25-year old lefty has thrown to Ruiz, opponents are 5 for 77.

No, Chooch is not quite the new Pudge, but he does leave one wondering with this question

Hey Sports Illustrated, what took you so long?

E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JRFingerCSN.

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