Twenty-two-year-old Dodgers catcher Keibert Ruiz, who arrived for Dodgers Spring Training 2021 nearly a month late, is ‘Batting a thousand’ … not figuratively, but literally.

Okay, 2-for-2 is a bit of a reach, but still…

When the young Valencia, Venezuela native finally arrived at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ after dealing with what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called “visa issues,” he was – according to Roberts – “in great shape;” a sentiment echoed by Ruiz’s longtime minor league battery mate Dustin May.

“He caught my bullpen the other day; yeah, he looked really good,” May told ThinkBlue LA. “Me and him got really close in the minor leagues, so, yeah, it was good to catch up with him and kind of get him there in camp and get him to be able to be around guys.”

As Dodger fans may recall, the powerfully built 6′-0″ / 225-pound backstop slugged a home run in his very first major league at-bat on August 16, 2020 off of Angels veteran All-Star right-hander Julio Teheran for a third-inning leadoff home run.

In his first Spring Training game this past Friday, Ruiz roped a line drive down the right-field line off of Cleveland Indians right-hander DJ Johnson for a two-run double.

And then on Sunday evening, Ruiz lined a single to right field off of Kansas City Royals right-hander Jake Newberry.

Granted, two Spring Training hits in two Spring Training at-bats does not a Hall of Famer make. But as the great Will Rogers once said:

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.“

Play Ball!

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