Carlos Ruiz loves Philly, says so on a billboard on I-95

I miss Carlos Ruiz. Do you miss him? I miss him.

As it turns out, Carlos Ruiz misses us, too. This was seen on I-95 yesterday in Philadelphia.

As my dad just texted me: “I saw Chooch’s billboard this morning! Trying not to cry.....”

Guys, my dad is the best. And so is Chooch. He’s definitely missed in the Phillies clubhouse. A few days after he was traded, CSNPhilly’s Jim Salisbury published a really touching story about Carlos Ruiz and the impact that he made on Freddy Galvis and Maikel Franco when they were new to the bigs.

According to Franco, Ruiz viewed it as his responsibility to help young Latin players learn the ropes in the big leagues.

When both Galvis and Franco were promoted, Ruiz took them both out and bought them nice clothes for their road games. This is what Franco said after Chooch was traded:

“The day he got traded, I called him. He had trouble talking because he was emotional. He almost cried. That boy is different. He’s special. I still have the suit. It is even more special now.”

Galvis had even more to say about Chooch’s generosity.

“Every time we went to a new ballpark, he made sure to go with me on the first day so I would know where the entrance was, how to get to the clubhouse, things like that,” Galvis said. “He was always looking out for you.”

Chooch and Freddy are especially close, since Freddy was the only young guy on the team when he was promoted. In fact, he’s going to be the godfather to Chooch’s soon-to-be-born child.

GUYS I’M CRYING ARE YOU CRYING?

We love you, Chooch. Expect a hero’s welcome whenever you come back. We’ll be waiting.