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Hello and happy Friday to you all.
It’s hard not to feel bad for Darin Ruf. After struggling to try and carve out a role in the Majors, the outfielder and first baseman headed to the KBO in 2017, where he was stellar for three years.
That earned him a minor league contract and a non-roster invitation to Spring Training with the San Francisco Giants. He certainly made the most of the opportunity, hitting 12-28 with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, and 3 walks.
And then the coronavirus suspended the MLB season for more than three months.
It left Ruf in a tough position. He hadn’t earned an MLB roster spot yet, but because the league had a transaction freeze, he also couldn’t return to an overseas league where baseball was starting up again.
According to Ruf, the Giants tried to help him out, and even explored the idea of a loan. Ultimately and unfortunately, it wasn’t possible.
Darin Ruf said he could have signed with an NPB team if not for the transaction freeze. Giants tried a way around the rules, even looking into a loan situation. But Ruf is here now and he's respectful of the way the Giants handled it.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 9, 2020
An MLB/NPB loan sure would be cool though.
Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?
He did!
July 10, 2003: Against the Colorado Rockies, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 4th inning off of Darren Oliver. It cut the Giants deficit to 4-1, and they would lose 11-3. It was his 3rd straight game with a homer, and his 28th of the year.
And it was this day in 2007 when the Giants hosted the All-Star Game, and Bonds received quite an ovation:
Giants links
- Podcast: Roger Munter talks Minor League Baseball with Richmond Flying Squirrels play-by-play guy Trey Wilson (There R Giants)
- Grant Brisbee on when San Francisco realized that Candlestick Park was a debacle (The Athletic, subscription required)
- Podcast: Grant Brisbee and Andrew Baggarly discuss the impending start of the season, and roster questions (The Athletic, free)
- John Shea on Alyssa Nakken getting reps as a first base coach (SF Chronicle)
- Kerry Crowley with three questions regarding the 2021 schedule (Mercury News)
- Matt Kelly on Tyler Rogers and his submarine delivery (MLB)
- Hank Schulman on why the youth of the Giants coaching staff may be a benefit right now (SF Chronicle)
- Alex Pavlovic on Marco Luciano’s gorgeous live BP home run (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Maria Guardado with three observations from the start of camp (MLB)
- Kerry Crowley lists five things learned at Wednesday’s workouts (Mercury News)
- Jacob Hutchinson lists some good and bad Summer Camp performances (KNBR)
- Alex Pavlovic on the number of top prospects in the Giants player pool (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Daniel Brown on Joan Ryan’s book Intangibles, and the chemistry between Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent (The Athletic, subscription required)
- Steve Berman ranks the 20 worst trades in Bay Area history (The Athletic, subscription required)
Have a great Friday everybody!