[4][10] With Ruel calling the pitches, Walter Johnson's career was revitalized, as he led the league with 23 victories and a 2.72 earned run average.

[15] Ruel hit for a .299 batting average in 1926 and led the American League catchers with a .989 fielding percentage, as the Senators slipped to a fourth-place finish.

[4] He had one more good season in 1927, posting a .310 batting average and finishing second among catchers in fielding percentage, putouts, assists, and baserunners caught stealing.

[18] In December 1930, Ruel's contract was purchased from the Senators by the Boston Red Sox, who then traded him to the Detroit Tigers in August 1931.

[4] [20] Ruel also led American League catchers three times in putouts and assists, and twice in range factor and in baserunners caught stealing.

In the Deadball Era, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of bunts and stolen base attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling the spitball pitchers who dominated pitching staffs.

[22] Richard Kendall of the Society for American Baseball Research devised a study that ranked Ruel as the fifth most dominating fielding catcher in major league history.

He worked with Chandler for only one year before accepting his only managerial job with the St. Louis Browns, where he led the 1947 team to a dismal 59–95 record, good for the American League cellar.

This was a self-deprecating reference to the harsh physical demands of the catcher's position due to exposure to errant pitches, foul tips, and collisions at home plate.