SEATTLE -- Carlos Ruiz, the catcher behind the plate for Roy Halladay's perfect game in 2010 with the Phillies and his no-hitter in that year's postseason, was caught off-guard like the rest of the baseball world on Tuesday by word of his former teammate Halladay's death in a plane crash off the coast of Florida.
"Chooch" Ruiz, who just became a free agent after spending last season with the Mariners, was a big part of the success Halladay had during the final four years of his career in Philadelphia.
"When I got the phone call and heard the news about Roy, I was truly devastated," Ruiz said in a statement released by his agent, Marc Kligman, on Tuesday evening.