Wilkin Chal Ruan (born September 18, 1978) is a former

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), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Career

Known primarily for his speed, Ruan was signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

on November 15, . He

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.348 with 33 stolen bases for the Expos Dominican League team in before being brought to the states and placed in the Expos rookie ball team in . Against more experienced U.S. pitchers he struggled slightly, hitting only .239 for the

Gulf Coast Expos The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The ...

that season, though he still stole 13 bases. With the

Cape Fear Crocs The Cape Fear Crocs were a minor league baseball team in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They were a low Class-A baseball team which played in the South Atlantic League, and were a farm team of the Montreal Expos for the franchise's entire tenu ...

in and , he improved his average (.224, .287) each year and continued to steal bases at an amazing rate, swiping 64 bases in 2000. In , he started at the Expos High-A team in

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and hit .283 with 25 steals before being promoted to their

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

Double-A team. On March 23, he was traded by the Expos to 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 ...

along with

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 ...

Guillermo Mota Guillermo Reynoso Mota (born July 25, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. In his career, he pitched for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, New Yor ...

for Jorge Nunez and

Matt Herges Matthew Tyler Herges (born April 1, 1970) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2009, and is the former pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Herges played in ML ...

. He started the 2002 season with the Dodgers Double-A team in

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where he hit .253 with 23 steals and finished the season with the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s where he hit .327 with 12 steals in 40 games. That earned him a September call-up to the Dodgers major league roster. He made his major league debut on September 1 as a pinch runner. He got his first major league

the following day against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

. He was primarily used as a pinch runner during his month-long stay in the big leagues. In , he was the starting center fielder for the Las Vegas 51s all season, hitting .308 with a whopping 41 steals in 49 attempts. He had a couple of stints with the Dodgers in 2003 also, hitting .220 in limited opportunities. However, he had a tough spring training in where he hit only .128 and wound up back in Jacksonville for the start of the season, hitting only .208 with 9 steals for the Suns, causing the Dodgers to release him on June 19, 2004. On July 2, he was signed as a minor league free agent by the Kansas City Royals and sent to their Double-A team in Wichita where he rebounded slightly, hitting .276 with 11 steals. He remained at Wichita for the season, hitting .254 with 18 steals in somewhat limited playing time. Released by the Royals after the 2005 season, he rejoined the Dodgers, signing to play once more with Jacksonville. He hit .260 with 18 steals as the starting center fielder for the Suns. In , he again started the season with Jacksonville, but was called up to Las Vegas in June, where he remained for . He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on December 17, 2008.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruan, Wilkin 1978 births Living people Cape Fear Crocs players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Estrellas Orientales players Gulf Coast Expos players Harrisburg Senators players Jacksonville Suns players Jupiter Hammerheads players Las Vegas 51s players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Wichita Wranglers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela