Giants' Darin Ruf opens up about his time with Mets

San Francisco Giants designated hitter and utilityman Darin Ruf has delivered an updated take regarding his brief stint with the New York Mets last year. 

As shared by Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle and Kevin Manahan of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, Ruf acknowledged following San Francisco's 10-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday that he "didn’t play as well as I wanted to" with the Mets in 2022. The 36-year-old also called his cup of coffee with the Amazins "a good learning experience," one that ended when he was released in early April.

"I think every fan base has a similar passion for the game and wants to see a win at the end of every night," Ruf continued about his time with the Mets. "I wish I could have played better. But baseball is hard, and you go through ups and downs throughout." 

Ruf generated headlines within the New York baseball community when he recently said that his struggles at the plate after the Giants traded him to the Mets last August were "magnified" by the local media and fans. 

"I think the media there really runs with what fans' perceptions are," Ruf told Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic. "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." 

Across 28 regular-season games with the Mets, Ruf slashed .152/.216/.197 with no home runs, seven RBI, and 20 strikeouts. In his official return to action with the Giants on Wednesday, he went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. 

As Ryan Chichester of Audacy pointed out, New York sports radio personalities such as Gregg Giannotti of WFAN blasted Ruf for seemingly blaming the media and passionate Mets fans for his forgettable performances in orange and blue. 

"He was horrible, and nobody could say a nice thing about him if he tried," Giannotti said of Ruf. "It’s not as if he had this history of success with the Mets and completely fell apart. From the second he got here, he was an atrocity. Is it difficult here? Yeah, but with social media now, I think it’s difficult everywhere."

Giants manager Gabe Kapler sounded happy to have Ruf as an option for his squad this spring. 

"I think for the time we had Darin, he was one of the more dangerous right-handed bats against left-handed pitching in baseball," Kapler said. "It’s nice to have a bat in our lineup against a tough lefty that is prepared for the moment, has done it before. No guarantee of success, but it’s encouraging that he’s physically ready and mentally ready for the challenge." 

For what it's worth, playing home MLB games in New York City certainly isn't for everyone and can exhaust even proven superstars and Most Valuable Player candidates.