Giants' Darin Ruf discusses difficulty of playing in New York

Veteran designated hitter and utilityman Darin Ruf has offered some interesting comments about his brief and forgettable stint with the New York Mets. 

"Anywhere you struggle, fans are going to be tough on you but in New York, it’s magnified," Ruf said during a phone conversation with Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. "I think the media there really runs with what fans' perceptions are. So you’re kind of getting crushed by two entities. Even if you’re not on social media a heck of a lot, you still have an idea and you see things." 

The Mets acquired Ruf from the San Francisco Giants before last summer's August trade deadline with the hopes that he would provide the kind of right-handed bat and depth the club needed. Across 28 regular-season games with the Amazins, Ruf slashed a woeful .152/.216/.197 with no home runs, seven RBI, three doubles and 20 strikeouts. New York designated him for assignment on March 27 and officially released him in early April.

Ruf ultimately returned to the Giants via a minor-league contract. 

"I am very happy to be back," Ruf told Baggarly. "Last year…it didn’t go the way I personally wanted it to. Obviously not for the Giants as a team, either. And getting traded didn’t work out the way anyone wanted." 

Ruf also noted how his father died unexpectedly at the end of May and how that impacted him through his cup of coffee with the Mets. 

"I think a lot of people feel that athletes, if they do a certain thing well, they should be able to do it well anywhere at any time," Ruf remarked. "But throughout life, you’ll be in different stages of emotional stability and mental stability. When a lot of things get thrown your way at once, it’s hard to perform every single night on a stage like New York or really anywhere in Major League Baseball. Baseball is a very tough game and you have to be in a very good spot mentally to have success. I’m hoping I can get back to that." 

Like Minnesota Twins outfielder Joey Gallo, it sounds like Ruf is happy to be away from the country's largest sports market this spring.