PEORIA, Ariz. — When Darin Ruf has stepped into the batter’s box this spring, it has been oddly, serenely silent. There are no personalized chants, no cheerleaders. Maybe the stray vuvuzela.
It’s a mostly welcome change for Ruf, who spent the past three years playing — and raking — in the Korean Baseball Organization, the country’s top professional league that has a reputation for its crazy game atmospheres.
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Ruf, 33, was a superstar in Korea. Here in Giants camp, he’s merely one of many fighting for one of 26 roster spots.
“Honestly,” Ruf said, “I just think having the success that I had over there allowed me to still come back and get a job over here.