No. 5: Carlos Ruiz returns to Philadelphia
Phillies fans love to reminisce about the 2008 World Series. While most of the players from that team are out of the league, a decent amount are still around. Carlos Ruiz was one of the last to leave Philadelphia, only being traded in August of 2016 to the Dodgers. Ruiz was traded to the Mariners during the offseason, who came to Philadelphia in May.
Ruiz started the first game of the two-game series on the bench but entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. The fans responded, belting Chooooooch just like they had for so long while he was in the red pinstripes. He started the next day and got those same chants again.
Ruiz was obviously very emotional talking about the ovation: [quote via Matt Breen of Philadelphia Inquirer]
"“That was really emotional. I’m really happy to come back here and enjoy the ovation from the fans,” Ruiz said. “That’s something that you’re always going to remember. We don’t see that too often. Just want to say thank you to everybody for the ovation and the support. They were so good to me throughout my career. I was so happy.”"
Seeing members of the 2008 team return to Philadelphia is always nice, but we won’t be able to do it for much longer as the championship goes farther and farther into the rear-view mirror.