Ruben Ibarra instantly became a household name for the Chattanooga Lookouts after he was called up to the Cincinnati Reds’ Double-A affiliate two years ago.
The 27-year-old Watsonville native even turned into somewhat of a celebrity during this current 2026 campaign.
His nickname “Big Papa” was part of the Nickname Knockout contest on Major League Baseball’s minor league website. He finished 10th out of 32 contestants with a total of 6,184 votes.
Ibarra may have not been victorious in the contest, but he has won the hearts of several fans, including some outside of Tennessee, since getting drafted in 2021.
“Just the other day, I had a kid from Dayton, Ohio, drive down with his dad to come watch me play,” said Ibarra, who played for the Dayton Dragons prior to his promotion. “Unfortunately, we got rained out but he said he’ll be at the game today. When you get little encounters like that, it makes it all wholesome. And those are the little things outside of the game that will keep you coming back to the game.”
Ibarra is currently batting a .226 (74-for-327) average, and his on-base (.327) and slugging (.443) percentages continue to stay consistent with what he’s been doing the past two seasons.
He currently has a total of 19 home runs, 14 doubles, 43 walks and 67 RBIs while striking out 102 times with 33 games remaining as of Aug. 7.
“It’s all about focusing on day-to-day activities,” Ibarra said. “The end goal is to obviously be better than what we were last year and we’re on a good pace to break that record.”
Ibarra added, “A majority of your at-bats are team at-bats. Whether you’re leading off, driving a runner in, moving them over, whatever the case is. Kind of framing my mindset into thinking how can I win today’s game?”
As of Friday, the Lookouts currently own a 12-24 overall record in the Southern League’s North Division. They sit behind Birmingham (16-20) in third, followed by division leaders Rocket City (19-17) and Knoxville (19-17), which won the first-half of the 2026 season.
The former St. Francis High and San Jose State University standout is on track to tie or set career highs in those same categories.
In 2025, he had a total of 21 home runs, 17 doubles, 47 walks and 69 RBIs while tallying 103 strikeouts in 104 games played. That year he finished batting a .232 (78-for-336) average, while recording on-base and slugging percentages of .348 and .470, respectively.
“Just one a day keeps the doctor away,” said Ibarra, referring to finding a way to get on base. “Whether it’s a walk, a hit, or whatever, once you get the first one, then you can kind of start gambling with house money.”
Like any other power hitter, Ibarra loves to swing the bat.
But, he said maintaining high averages is falling off the table in today’s game because pitchers are consistently elevating skillwise, and it’s nonstop.
Ibarra mentioned there have been times of disappointment after going hitless in a game. Yet, at the end of the day it’s how he approached those at-bats that matters the most.
“It’s more of just productivity and consistency,” Ibarra said. “When I go [hitless], I’m not the happiest. But am I going 0-for-4 with four line drives or four strikeouts? Then you make the adjustments off of that.”
Dating back to Ibarra’s playing days in a Sharks uniform, St. Francis head coach Kenny Nakagawa said everybody expected an athlete of his monstrous size to crush the ball on each swing.
At the time, Ibarra was listed as a 6-foot-4, 270-pound first baseman. However, it was his defense that was often overlooked.
One of Ibarra’s early SportsCenter highlights came during a Central Coast Section playoff game against Monte Vista Christian in 2017.
Nakagawa recalls the tying run was on second base for MVC with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. That’s when Jackson Collins hit a missile down the first base line.
“I’m like ‘Oh my God, there’s a tied ball game,’” Nakagawa said. “And all of a sudden, here’s Ruben diving in foul territory, making this great play to end the game.”
Ibarra currently owns a .988 fielding percentage that includes 41 double plays, 24 assists and just six errors.
“Everybody wants to talk about his offense, but defensively they really don’t talk much,” Nakagawa said. “Nobody talks about the diving plays that he makes at first base or the scoops that he makes when guys have an errant throw.”
Ibarra said playing on the defensive side is something that’s always controllable, whether he’s on time with a prep-step, taking a certain route to a ball or how to approach a pick at first base.
“Defense for me is something that I always want to keep clean and always something that’s reliable,” Ibarra said.
Nakagawa knew that Ibarra, who was a great teammate to his peers in the dugout, was a special athlete growing up. Now, he’s become a fan favorite and doing the right things in the clubhouse from an organizational standpoint.
Looking at things from a clubhouse perspective, Nakagawa is convinced that Ibarra has the right numbers to play at the highest level.
“You like to see a couple of the other numbers go a little higher, but with his stats, he needs an opportunity,” Nakagawa said.
Nakagawa knows that his former player is capable of playing in the big league. He said Ibarra just needs a break somewhere in the Reds organization for something to happen to get him there.
“[Ibarra will] actually hit better up there than he will down below just because all the services that he has available to him up there compared to down in the minor leagues,” Nakagawa said. “Once he goes up the ladder, I think his numbers will increase.”
For now, Ibarra will continue to love it when the fans call him “Big Papa” and throw their hands in the air because he’s a true player.
“Being able to do what I love is better than a desk job,” he said. “If you’re having a bad day or not, you still get to come to the field and play ball. I love that the fans love me for me, and I play with my heart on my sleeve. I just leave it all out on the field.”
Editor’s note: Listen to the full interview with Ruben Ibarra on the Cover 3 Sports Podcast, which is set to premiere next week.
