Bruce Ruffin (1986, starting pitcher, ROY voting: 7th)
Ruffin was promoted to the Phillies in June of 1986 after the release of Steve Carlton, who was at the end of a Hall of Fame career. Ruffin’s rookie season turned out to be his best. In 21 starts, he went 9-4 with a 2.46 ERA and six complete games. His performance was good enough for seventh place in the Rookie of the Year voting.
In the rotation for the entire 1987 season, Ruffin went 11-14 with a career high 204 2/3 innings and a 4.35 ERA. He spent four more seasons with the Phillies, pitching to a sub-par record of 22-40 in 142 appearances, 78 as a starter.
In 1992, Ruffin played for the Brewers and struggled to a 1-6 record with a 6.67 ERA. He signed with the Rockies in 1993 and had a moderate amount of success in the bullpen. Ruffin had a 3.87 ERA in 1993, 2.12 ERA in 37 games in 1995 and seven wins and 24 saves in 1996. Ruffin retired after an 0-2 record with a 5.32 ERA in 23 games in 1997.
Ruffin’s son, Chance, pitched in 24 Major League games for the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners over parts of two seasons.