Former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Darin Ruf is suing the Cincinnati Reds for damages as a result of what he described as a career-ending injury suffered when he ran into a tarp at Great American Ball Park in 2023.
According to the Associated Press, Ruf’s attorney filed a lawsuit in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas that charged the Reds with negligence in failing to maintain safe field conditions. The lawsuit specifically cites an unpadded metal tarp roller.
A Cincinnati Reds spokesperson said Thursday evening that the team had no comment on the lawsuit.
On June 2, 2023, in a game between the Reds and Brewers, Ruf chased after a Kevin Newman foul pop fly but ran into the tarp as the ball was coming down near the netting that separates the playing field from the stands along the right-field line. Ruf ran into the tarp and tarp roller, which was covered by an orange advertisement for Gorilla Glue.
Although Ruf walked off the field under his own power, there was a visible blood stain on his right knee after running into the tarp. The complaint claims Ruf suffered “permanent and substantial deformities to his knee.”
“This didn’t need to happen,” Ruf said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “I wish it didn’t happen. Players shouldn’t have to worry about hidden hazards like that on a major-league field.”
Ruf played seven games that September for the Brewers’ Triple-A Nashville affiliate.
The injury occurred less than two months from Ruf’s 37th birthday. He was in just his 11th game with the Brewers. Ruf was released by the New York Mets in April of that year before signing with the San Francisco Giants. He played nine games with the Giants before he refused an assignment to the minor leagues and was granted free agency. In his 20 big-league games that season, Ruf hit .224 with no home runs in 57 plate appearances between 20 games with the Giants and Brewers. He hit .204 with 11 home runs in 118 games with the Giants and Mets in 2022.
Ruf debuted with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2012. The Phillies traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2016 season and sold his rights to the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization. After three seasons with the Lions, Ruf returned to the United States after signing a free-agent contract with the Giants.
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