and once, in 1938, no AL pitcher did, Grove leading the league a 3.08. Ruffing was an excellent hitter for a pitcher, good enough to frequently be called on to pinch hit and even play the outfield in emergency situations. His 36 home runs as a pitcher are fourth behind Ferrell, Warren Spahn, and Bob Lemon. He hit over .300 in eight different seasons, batting .269 overall with 521 hits in 1,937 career at-bats. Coaching career After he retired from pitching, Ruffing stayed with the White Sox organization to instruct their players. The White Sox named Ruffing the manager of their Class A minor league affiliate, the Muskegon Clippers of the Central League, for the 1949 season. That season, the Clippers finished in fifth place out of six teams. In 1950, Ruffing managed the Daytona Beach Islanders of the Florida State League, a Cleveland Indians' affiliate. When Al Simmons retired from his coaching position with the Indians just before the 1951 season due to his failing health, bullpen coach Jake Flowers was moved to the third base coaching position, and Ruffing took over Flowers's duties. From 1952 through 1961, Ruffing was a player personnel executive for the Indians. Ruffing returned to the baseball field serving as pitching coach for the expansion New York Mets in 1962, which were run by George Weiss, the general manager, and Casey Stengel, the manager. Weiss and Stengel had held the same positions with the Yankees during Ruffing's tenure. As a team, the Mets had a 5.04 ERA across the 1962 season, which was the worst in the major leagues. The job also involved scouting duties, which Ruffing did not like, and he retired shortly after the season ended. He returned to baseball again for the 1969 season, at the request of former teammate Don Heffner, who was managing the Denver Bears of the American Association. Ruffing served as Heffner's pitching coach. Personal life Ruffing married Pauline Mulholland, a native of Chicago, at the end of the 1934 season. The couple settled in Long Beach, California. When he worked for the Indians in the 1950s, the Ruffing family relocated to Cleveland. The couple had a son, named Charles, Jr. Ruffing suffered a stroke in 1974, at the age of 68, which left him paralyzed on his left side. As a result, he used a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. This was Ruffing's second