Dusty Wathan, Darin Ruf, Trevor May inducted into Baseballtown Hall of Fame

READING Trevor May recalls he and fellow pitcher Jonathan Pettibone having the same thought during August 2012 Reading Fightins games: Why is anyone throwing him strikes? they wondered.

May and Pettibone were referencing teammate Darin Rufs home run barrage when he hit 20 in a 28-game stretch that month on his way to a record-setting 38 that season.

It was like every other game, every single at-bat, May said.

We were telling [manager] Dusty [Wathan] to stop giving him signs.

We told him to say, Just do it again, please.

I dont think I saw anything like it since.

Ruf, May and Wathan were together again 13 years later on Thursday night at Readings FirstEnergy Stadium to celebrate their induction into the Baseballtown Hall of Fame.

It was the only season Ruf and May, who was part of the Phillies Baby Aces, played in Reading.

It was Wathans first as the clubs manager.

He is the franchises winningest manager after leading the team to three playoff appearances in his five seasons in charge.

Wathan played in three major-league games with the Royals in 2002 before finishing his career five years later in Reading and Triple-A Ottawa in the Phillies system.

He went on to manage the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2017 before heading to Philadelphia.

He has been the Phillies third-base coach since 2018.

Its a special town with special people who run this place, Wathan said.

I was fortunate to have good teams when I was here, a lot of really good players who won a lot of games for me.

I just pushed them in the right direction.

Ruf slashed .317/.408/.620/1.028 in 139 games in 2012, with 93 runs, 155 hits, 32 double, one triple, 104 RBIs and 65 walks in addition to his record-setting 38-home run season that stood until Rhys Hoskins matched it in 2016.

Ruf earned his first major-league promotion after Readings playoff run in 2012.

The Nebraska native who was the Phillies 20th-round pick in 2009 split the next four seasons between the IronPigs and the Phillies.

He was traded to the Dodgers with Darnell Sweeney on Nov.

11, 2016, for Howie Kendrick, but never played for the Dodgers, who released him on Feb.

18, 2017.

Ruf spent the next three years in Korea, before returning in 2020 to play the next three-plus years for the Giants.

He was signed by the Brewers during the 2023 season before suffering a broken right kneecap on June 4.

He never played again.

May was 10-13 with a 4.87 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 28 starts in 2012 for Reading.

He was traded on Dec.

6, 2012, with fellow pitcher Vance Worley to the Twins for outfielder Ben Revere.

May pitched in 358 major-league games, mostly in relief, in nine seasons with the Twins, Mets and As.

To be honest, May said, I was a little surprised when I got call [from Reading].

Im excited, happy to be back.

Its been a long time.

It is a storied place where there have been so many good players.

I got to watch one [Ruf] play as one of his teammates.

I played in a lot of places.

Its one of my favorite places.

Im glad to be part of its history.

Ruf hit 17 home runs in 2011 at Class-A Clearwater and 14 in 2013 for the Phillies.

He finished with 67 MLB homers and 20 of his 28 with the IronPigs in 2016.

Reading was special, he said, a take-off moment in my career.

[In 2012], I was hitting homers for the first time in my career.

I remember [former IronPigs hitting coach] Sal Rende saying at the end of spring training that year that Reading is a great place to hit so I didnt need to change anything I was doing.

Ruf, who is married with two children, recently finished up his first season as an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

May, married with an infant child, is an online streamer and YouTuber who breaks down baseballs many nuances for the younger generation of the sports fans.

The game has changed so much, he said.

Theres so much data.

There are so many words out there that are hard to explain unless someone makes it digestible.

That was one of my missions when I came into this.

What I did when I was playing was fun.

I want to share that.

Theres so much going on.

Wathan has carved out a career as a third-base coach, being the one non-participant who can impact a game at any moment.

He had many special memories in his time in the Phillies minor league system as a manager, none cooler than what came at the end of the 2012 season.

He got to tell Ruf that he was going to the major leagues right from Double-A Reading.

Every guy has a window to the majors, Wathan said.

Some guys have big, bay windows.

Some guys have a tiny window with a shower.

To start that season, [Rufs] window wasnt that big, but he made the most of his opportunity.

I remember he hit a line drive that would have been a home run in any other ballpark, but it hit off the wall in Portland.

He should have had one more home run.

For some reason, that sticks out.

Wathans four children spent five of their formative years in Reading, in the FirstEnergy Stadium pool and on the field postgame.

Wathan took what he learned from predecessors including Doug Manzolino and John Russell to become a valuable asset to the Phillies.

After successful stints as a manager at all levels in the minor leagues, he is relishing his opportunity to help the parent club win a World Series ring.

You do anything long enough, he said, you get better at it.

I had pretty good teachers early in my career.

I played under [Russell], had a lot of questions for him.

Theres no art form [to coaching third base].

Theres a little bit of feel out there in the moment, realizing the situation.

The enjoyable part of it is its the closest thing to playing.

Its why I love coaching third base.

I am the only guy who can impact the game as its going on who is not a player.

Like a player, you take some heat.

On a steamy Thursday in Baseballtown, Wathan, Ruf and May relived some of their many memories they made on their journey to the major leagues.

It doesnt quite feel real or right being in [Readings hall of fame with former legends Mike Schmidt, Ryan Howard and others], Ruf said.

Its one of my biggest honors in a sport I played since I was 7.

Im very humble.

It came with a lot of hard work and sacrifice.

Morning Call senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at [email protected].

This article has been shared from the original article on citizensvoice, here is the link to the original article.