His best season may have been in 1980, a year he did not make the All-Star team. He finished the season with a career-high 17 wins, and had a 3.55 earned run average in 33 games started. Ironically, even though he started every game during the season, Ruthven came in as a relief pitcher in the pivotal 5th game of the National League Championship Series, pitching two shutout innings to earn the victory in the 10th inning, capping a Phillies comeback in a game in which the team faced a 5-2 deficit in the 8th inning against Nolan Ryan. Ruthven pitched the third game of the 1980 World Series, won by the Royals, without a decision. The Phillies won that Series in six games.