Johnny Renando Ruffin (born July 29, 1971) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

. He played six seasons in

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) ...

(MLB) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

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. ...

and

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

. He also played one season in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...

(NPB) with the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stad ...

and one season in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are ...

for the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. ...

Career

Ruffin was drafted by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in the 4th round of the 1988 MLB draft. He played his first professional season with their rookie club Gulf Coast League White Sox in . He played in MLB with the Cincinnati Reds from 1993 to 1996, then spent a season in Japan with the Kintetsu Buffaloes. (He returned to MLB with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2000) and Florida Marlins (2001). He played his last affiliated season for Cincinnati's Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the winged mammal and baseball ...

in and appeared in Korea with the SK Wyverns that same season. His last professional season was with the independent

Pennsylvania Road Warriors The Road Warriors are a professional baseball team owned by the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The traveling team has operated intermittently throughout the league's history, usually being activated in years when the league otherwise h ...

of the Atlantic League in . A 2016 AL.com article named Ruffin the best athlete to come from

Choctaw County, Alabama Choctaw County is a county located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,665. The county seat is Butler. The county was established on December 29, 1847, and named for the Choc ...

References

External links

RetrosheetPura Pelota
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
Career statistics and player information
from

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and K ...

1971 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Alabama Birmingham Barons players Calgary Cannons players Caribes de Oriente players Cincinnati Reds players Florida Marlins players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Gulf Coast White Sox players Indianapolis Indians players KBO League pitchers Kintetsu Buffaloes players Louisville Bats players Louisville Redbirds players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball pitchers Nashua Pride players Nashville Sounds players Mexican League baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Norfolk Tides players Pawtucket Red Sox players Pennsylvania Road Warriors players People from Butler, Alabama Sarasota White Sox players SSG Landers players South Bend White Sox players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Sidewinders players Utica Blue Sox players African-American baseball players American people convicted of attempted rape {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub