Vern Ruhle
| Vern Ruhle | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | |||
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Born: January 25, 1951 Coleman, Michigan |
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Died: January 20, 2007 (aged 55) Houston, Texas |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 9, 1974, for the Detroit Tigers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 4, 1986, for the California Angels | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 67–88 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.73 | ||
| Strikeouts | 582 | ||
| Teams | |||
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As player
As coach |
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As player
As coach
Vernon Gerald Ruhle (January 25, 1951 – January 20, 2007) was an American right-handed pitcher and coach in Major League Baseball who played thirteen seasons from 1974 to 1986, primarily with the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros.
Ruhle was born in Coleman, Michigan, and attended Olivet College, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Alpha fraternity. He was selected by the Tigers in the 17th round of the 1972 amateur draft and made his debut with the club in September 1974. He joined the Tigers' starting rotation the following year, posting a record of 11 wins and 12 losses on a team that finished 57–102. On August 12, Ruhle was presented with his university degree from Olivet College during a pre-game ceremony at Tiger Stadium.
Ruhle gave up a third inning single to Hank Aaron on May 1, 1975 driving in Sixto Lezcano for his record breaking 2,210th run batted in to surpassed Babe Ruth's record of 2,209. On May 12, 1975, Ruhle allowed 12 baserunners in his 7 1/3 innings to earn a win. The Royals left a record-tying 15 men on base without scoring in a 5-0 loss to the Tigers. The 15 runners in a shutout had been done 3 times before‚ the last on August 1‚ 1941. The mark was finally eclipsed by the Cards in 1994. After a 9–12 season in 1976, he finished 1977 with a 5.70 earned run average in only 66 innings pitched. He was released by Detroit toward the end of spring training in 1978, but was signed by the Astros the following day.
Ruhle made sporadic appearances for Houston over the next two years before finishing with a 12–4 win-loss record and a 2.38 ERA in 1980, when the team won its first division title, and started Game 4 of the 1980 National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies; he left the game with a 2–1 lead in the eighth inning, with Houston needing only one last victory to reach their first World Series, but Philadelphia came back to win 5–3 in 10 innings and took the series in five games.
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