Vernon Gerald Ruhle ( ; January 25, 1951 – January 20, 2007) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB), primarily for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

for 13 seasons, from to .

Early life

Ruhle was born in

Coleman, Michigan Coleman is a city in Midland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,243 at the 2010 census. History Coleman began with the building of a sawmill in 1870. The following year a station of the Pere Marquette Railroad was opened. ...

, and attended

Olivet College Olivet College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It was founded in 1844 by missionaries from Oberlin College, and it followed Oberlin in becom ...

, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Alpha fraternity. He was selected by the Detroit Tigers, in the 17th round of the

1972 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1972 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The Montreal Expos had perhaps their best draft in franc ...

Baseball career

Ruhle made his debut with Detroit, in September 1974. He joined the Tigers' starting rotation the following year, posting a record of 11 wins and 12 losses, on a team that finished 57–102. On August 12, Ruhle was presented with his university degree from Olivet College, during a

pre-game ceremony A pre-game ceremony or pre-match ceremony is an on-field ceremony occurring before a sporting event. Such ceremonies may celebrate a past event, honour a retiring athlete, commemorate a deceased athlete, or promote a cause. Celebrating past event ...

at Tiger Stadium. Ruhle gave up a third-inning single to

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

on May 1, 1975, driving in

Sixto Lezcano Sixto Joaquin Lezcano Curras (born November 28, 1953) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons (1974–1985). He played for five MLB teams and won a Gold Glove during ...

for Aaron's record-breaking 2,210th

run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI), to surpass

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

's record of 2,209. On May 12, 1975, Ruhle allowed 12 baserunners in his 7 1/3 innings to earn a win. That night, the Royals left a record-tying 15 men on base, without scoring, in a 5–0 loss to the Tigers. The 15 runners left-on-base (LOB) in a shutout had been done 3 times before‚ the last on August 1‚ 1941. The mark was finally eclipsed by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in . After a 9–12 season in , he finished with a 5.70

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in only 66

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Ruhle was released by Detroit toward the end of spring training in but was signed by the Houston Astros the following day. Ruhle made sporadic appearances for Houston over the next two years before finishing with a 12–4

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and a 2.38 ERA in , when the team won its first division title, and started Game 4 of the 1980 National League Championship Series against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. He left the game with a 2–1 lead in the eighth inning. Houston needed only one more victory to reach their first World Series, but Philadelphia came back to win, 5–3, in 10 innings and took the series after winning the decisive fifth game. Ruhle was the center of a controversial play in his Game Four League Championship Series start. With two runners on in the fourth inning, Ruhle fielded a soft liner off the bat of

Garry Maddox Garry Lee Maddox (born September 1, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from to . Maddox began his career with the San Francisco Giants but, ...

and immediately threw to first base. However, Philadelphia players raced out of the dugout to argue that Ruhle had trapped the ball. During the argument, first baseman

Art Howe Arthur Henry Howe Jr. (born December 15, 1946) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach, scout, and manager, who appeared as a player in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (–), Houston Astros (–), and ...

stepped on second base and claimed a triple play. After 20 minutes, it was ruled a catch, but the triple play was completed after time had been called, and was disallowed. Ruhle had a no-decision as the Astros lost in the tenth inning. He later started in Game Four of the 1981 National League Division Series against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, losing a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

2–1 pitchers' duel with

Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (, born November 1, 1960) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from to and to . While he played for six MLB teams, he is best remembered f ...

, as Houston again wasted a 2–1 series advantage and lost in five games. Ruhle continued to start less regularly before primarily shifting to

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

work in –. He signed with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

as a free agent, after the 1984 season, and made 16 starts and 26 relief appearances for the club in . He joined the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

in June and closed his career that year working mainly out of the bullpen. His last appearance was in Game 4 of the

1986 American League Championship Series The 1986 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven Major League Baseball postseason series between the Boston Red Sox and the California Angels for the right to advance to the 1986 World Series to face the winner of the 1986 Na ...

against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, entering with the Angels trailing 1–0 with two out in the seventh inning; he surrendered two more runs in the eighth inning, but the Angels won in 11 innings after tying the game with three runs in the ninth. In a 13-year major league career, Ruhle posted a record of 67–88 with 582

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s and a 3.73 ERA in 327 games. Ruhle later became a

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the Astros, Phillies,

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, and finally the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, in 9 of 10 consecutive seasons, from to .

Death

Ruhle died in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

after a yearlong battle with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

, on January 20, 2007. He was married to Sue at time of death. He had two children from his first marriage to Darlene Mekulen Ruhle, Kenny and Rebecca.

References

External links

Vern Ruhle
at Baseball Almanac
Vern Ruhle
at Baseball Biography

at Astros Daily
Vern Ruhle
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruhle, Vern 1951 births 2007 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Michigan Baseball players from Houston Bristol Tigers players California Angels players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Charleston Charlies players Cincinnati Reds coaches Cleveland Indians players Columbus Astros players Deaths from cancer in Texas Deaths from multiple myeloma Detroit Tigers players Edmonton Trappers players Evansville Triplets players Houston Astros coaches Houston Astros players Lakeland Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Montgomery Rebels players Olivet Comets baseball players New York Mets coaches People from Midland County, Michigan Philadelphia Phillies coaches Rocky Mount Leafs players San Jose Bees players