Bruce Ruffin
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1986-1997)
Bruce Ruffin was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1997 for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Colorado Rockies, a span of 12 seasons. Across 469 career appearances, he went 60-82 with a 4.19 ERA, 843 strikeouts, and 63 saves. He also batted .081 with 0 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 6467.7.
- W (Wins):
- Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
- SO (Strikeouts):
- For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
- WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
- Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.
Data updated
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- B / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 205 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1986-06-28
- Last Game
- 1997-06-26
Full name: Bruce Wayne Ruffin
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | PHI | NL | 9 | 4 | 21 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 146.1 | 138 | 40 | 44 | 70 | 2.46 | 3.97 (+38%) | 2647.8 |
| 1987 | PHI | NL | 11 | 14 | 35 | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 204.2 | 236 | 99 | 73 | 93 | 4.35 | 4.29 (-1%) | 811.1 |
| 1988 | PHI | NL | 6 | 10 | 55 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 144.1 | 151 | 71 | 80 | 82 | 4.43 | 3.73 (-19%) | -919.2 |
| 1989 | PHI | NL | 6 | 10 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 125.2 | 152 | 62 | 62 | 70 | 4.44 | 3.71 (-20%) | -1423.3 |
| 1990 | PHI | NL | 6 | 13 | 32 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 149.0 | 178 | 89 | 62 | 79 | 5.38 | 3.86 (-39%) | -1402.6 |
| 1991 | PHI | NL | 4 | 7 | 31 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 119.0 | 125 | 50 | 38 | 85 | 3.78 | 3.91 (+3%) | 2576.7 |
| 1992 | ML4 | AL | 1 | 6 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 58.0 | 66 | 43 | 41 | 45 | 6.67 | 3.75 (-78%) | -1704.7 |
| 1993 | COL | NL | 6 | 5 | 59 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 139.2 | 145 | 60 | 69 | 126 | 3.87 | 4.19 (+8%) | 2055.3 |
| 1994 | COL | NL | 4 | 5 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 55.2 | 55 | 25 | 30 | 65 | 4.04 | 4.51 (+10%) | 906.6 |
| 1995 | COL | NL | 0 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 34.0 | 26 | 8 | 19 | 23 | 2.12 | 4.45 (+52%) | 549.5 |
| 1996 | COL | NL | 7 | 5 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 69.2 | 55 | 31 | 29 | 74 | 4.00 | 4.61 (+13%) | 2441.4 |
| 1997 | COL | NL | 0 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 22.0 | 18 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 5.32 | 4.39 (-21%) | -70.9 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 60 | 82 | 469 | 152 | 17 | 3 | 63 | 1,268.0 | 1,345 | 591 | 565 | 843 | 4.19 | — | 6,468 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 469 | 295 | 13 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 143 | .081 | .148 | .095 | .243 | -1,634 |
Career AVG .081 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 68.9% below league average.
Career OBP .148 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — 55.1% below league average.
Career SLG .095 vs. league average .400 across their career seasons — 76.3% below league average.
Career OPS .243 vs. league average .729 across their career seasons — 66.7% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | PHI | NL | 21 | 55 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | .073 | .257 (-72%) | .325 (-78%) | .395 (-77%) | .720 (-77%) | -675.2 |
| 1987 | PHI | NL | 35 | 73 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 39 | .055 | .262 (-79%) | .331 (-76%) | .415 (-84%) | .746 (-80%) | -959.1 |
| 1988 | PHI | NL | 55 | 33 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | .121 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1989 | PHI | NL | 24 | 34 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 15 | .176 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1990 | PHI | NL | 32 | 44 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .068 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1991 | PHI | NL | 31 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 18 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1992 | ML4 | AL | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1993 | COL | NL | 59 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | .080 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1994 | COL | NL | 56 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1995 | COL | NL | 37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1996 | COL | NL | 71 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1997 | COL | NL | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 469 | 295 | 13 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 143 | .081 | — | — | — | — | -1,634 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (938 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 239 | 153 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 6 | .105 |
| Away | 230 | 142 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | .056 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 239 | 672.0 | 718 | 309 | 300 | 451 | 4.14 |
| Away | 230 | 596.0 | 627 | 281 | 265 | 392 | 4.24 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-06-26 | COL | SFG | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997-06-22 | COL | SDP | L | 0.1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997-06-21 | COL | SDP | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997-06-18 | COL | TEX | — | 0.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997-06-17 | COL | TEX | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1997-05-18 | COL | NYN | L | 0.0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997-05-16 | COL | NYN | SV | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997-05-14 | COL | PIT | — | 0.2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1997-05-10 | COL | PHI | — | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1997-05-08 | COL | PIT | — | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | PHI | P | 21 | 21 | 8 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987 | PHI | P | 35 | 35 | 7 | 32 | 2 | 3 |
| 1988 | PHI | P | 55 | 15 | 11 | 25 | 2 | 2 |
| 1989 | PHI | P | 24 | 23 | 3 | 34 | 4 | 0 |
| 1990 | PHI | P | 32 | 25 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 2 |
| 1991 | PHI | P | 31 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 1 |
| 1992 | ML4 | P | 25 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | COL | P | 59 | 12 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 3 |
| 1994 | COL | P | 56 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | COL | P | 37 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | COL | P | 71 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | COL | P | 23 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 469 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | COL | NL | $1,000,000 |
| 1995 | COL | NL | $1,000,000 |
| 1994 | COL | NL | $800,000 |
| 1993 | COL | NL | $550,000 |
| 1992 | ML4 | AL | $525,000 |
| 1990 | PHI | NL | $350,000 |
| 1989 | PHI | NL | $175,000 |
| 1988 | PHI | NL | $140,000 |
| 1987 | PHI | NL | $100,000 |
| 1986 | PHI | NL | $60,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $4,700,000 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Texas at Austin | Austin | TX | 1983, 1984, 1985 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Rookie of the Year | NL | 7th | 1.0 | 120 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Bruce Ruffin (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Bruce Ruffin: the record in brief
The profile opens with Bruce Ruffin's first major league game on June 28, 1986; the last one listed came on June 26, 1997. The team column moves through the Philadelphia Phillies (1986 to 1991), the Milwaukee Brewers (1992), and the Colorado Rockies (1993 to 1997). Ruffin, a pitcher by primary position, batted from both sides and threw left-handed. Ruffin is listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds. Ruffin was born on October 4, 1963, in Lubbock, TX, USA. The bio lists the given name Bruce Wayne.
Ruffin pitched in 469 games, starting 152, and finished with a 60-82 record and 4.19 ERA. Ruffin had 843 strikeouts, 17 complete games, and 63 saves. Ruffin's 4.19 ERA was close to the 4.11 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 11 wins of 1987. The strikeout high was 126 in 1993. The most saves in one season was 24, in 1996. In 1986, one of the busiest seasons, Ruffin posted a 2.46 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.97.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bruce Ruffin
- What years did Bruce Ruffin play?
- Bruce Ruffin played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 1997.
- Was Bruce Ruffin a pitcher?
- Yes. Bruce Ruffin pitched in the major leagues, recording 60 wins and 843 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Bruce Ruffin hit?
- Bruce Ruffin hit 0 career home runs with 24 hits.
- What was Bruce Ruffin's career batting average?
- Bruce Ruffin batted .081 over his career, with 24 hits in 295 at bats.
- How many RBI did Bruce Ruffin have?
- Bruce Ruffin drove in 7 runs in his career.
- What was Bruce Ruffin's career ERA?
- Bruce Ruffin finished with a 4.19 career ERA, going 60-82 with 843 strikeouts.