July 26, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas – Chance Ruffin made his Major League Baseball debut with the Detroit Tigers on Monday, becoming the 100th player to finish his collegiate career as a Longhorn and go on to appear in a Major League game.
Ruffin entered the game with the score tied 2-2 with two outs and bases loaded in the fifth inning. He yielded a two-run double, but bounced back to end the inning with a pop up. He finished his first Major League outing with 1.2 innings pitched, yielding two runs on three hits while striking out two.
Ruffin, who was the 48th overall selection of the 2010 MLB First Year Player Draft, made a mercurial rise up the Tigers’ farm system this season. He went 3-3 with 10 saves and a 2.12 ERA in 31 games with the Double-A Erie Seawolves to start the season. He recorded 43 strikeouts in 34.0 innings at Erie. Prior to being called up to the Tigers, he pitched in eight games for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, registering seven saves and a 2.00 ERA, with 12 strikeouts in 9.0 innings.
The Austin, Texas native was a three-time All-Big 12 selection and was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year in 2010 when he went 6-1 with 14 saves, a 1.11 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. He was a first-team All-American as a relief pitcher in 2010 and earned third-team honors as a starting pitcher in 2008.
Ruffin became the 16th player to finish his collegiate career as a Longhorn and go on to appear in a Major League game in the last 10 years. Over that span, a Texas Exes has made his Major League debut in every season, including Jose Flores in 2002, Stephen Randolph in 2003, Scott Dunn, Brad Halsey and Phil Seibel in 2004, J.P. Howell, Omar Quintanilla and Huston Street in 2005, Brandon Fahey in 2006, Curtis Thigpen in 2007, Taylor Teagarden in 2008, Drew Stubbs in 2009, James Russell and Sam LeCure in 2010 and Brandon Belt in 2011.
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