Darin Ruf's time with the New York Mets is something that he would like to forget. The slugger struggled mightily in New York last season, hitting just .152 in 66 at-bats.

One thing many fans didn't know was that Ruf was mourning the loss of his father during his time with the Mets. Ruf and his father were very close, and the death affected him a lot.

“But unbeknownst to the Mets fans sniping at Ruf from the stands and social media, the trade came at an especially difficult time in his life. He was still mourning the loss of his father, Bill, who died unexpectedly at the end of May. Ruf flew back to Omaha for the service and… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/rafgaLPUkT

Baseball is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, sports to be successful at. You need to be in a good place mentally or you won't see any success. It makes sense that Ruf struggled in New York.

Fans didn't give Ruf any slack for his lackluster performances. He was heckled at the stadium and online as fans couldn't believe how bad he struggled at the plate.

@genymets I feel bad now, I am not sure why he kept that a secret.

@genymets Ok? It’s obv a tragedy but it’s a results driven business

@genymets Our fanbase has no compassion unfortunately.

@genymets Sorry for him also kind of shows Mets could've handled it better

New York Mets fans are split on how they feel about Darin Ruf. Some felt bad for him and wished that he would have made the news about his father's death more public. Other fans don't care much about his personal life; they just want to see players on their team perform.

@genymets Heartbreaking story! Some fans can be heartless. They never consider that the person wearing the jersey is human. Wishing Darin all the best.

@genymets We all deal with loss differently. Good luck Ruf.

@genymets I’m anti-booing, and having been through the same, it’s understandable that one may not be comfortable with information going public. But Mets fans would have treated him differently had they known.

@genymets It was an utter disaster of a trade no matter how you slice it..

@genymets No don’t try to play the sympathy card. Then he should have sat out. Not take premier at bats down the stretch if he wasn’t mentally there.

Some fans would have much rather seen Ruf take some time away to deal with his loss. He was in no position to compete for a team that was trying to make a postseason run last year.

It was the wrong place at the wrong time for the New York Mets and Darin Ruf

Darin Ruf could have really been a force for the New York Mets if it had been at a different time. He would have really helped the team hit against left-handed pitching.

Perhaps, Ruf can return to the player he once was in San Francisco. He'll have to work his way up the Giants' roster as he has signed a minor league contract.

Don't be surprised if Ruf does make his way back to the major league roster. Injuries to Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater have left the Giants' outfield thin as far as right-handed hitters go.

It will be interesting to see if Ruf can make his way back to the major league roster.