- Iván Rodríguez
Infobox MLB player
name = Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez
width = 250
caption = Rodríguez tossing the ball into the crowd
position = Catcher
team = New York Yankees
number = 12
bats = Right
throws = Right
birthdate = birth date and age|mf=yes|1971|11|30
birthplace = city-state|Vega Baja|Puerto Rico
debutdate = June 20
debutyear = 1991
debutteam = Texas Rangers
statyear = 2008 season
stat1label =Batting average
stat1value = .301
stat2label =Home run s
stat2value = 295
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 1,217
stat4label = Hits
stat4value = 2,605
stat5label =On-base plus slugging
stat5value = .814
teams =
*Texas Rangers (by|1991–by|2002)
*Florida Marlins (by|2003)
*Detroit Tigers (by|2004–by|2008)
*New York Yankees (by|2008–present)
awards =
*Most Valuable Player Award winner (by|1999)
*13x Gold Glove Award winner (by|1992, by|1993, by|1994, by|1995, by|1996, by|1997, by|1998, by|1999, by|2000, by|2001, by|2004, by|2006, by|2007)
*7xSilver Slugger Award winner (by|1994, by|1995, by|1996, by|1997, by|1998, by|1999, by|2004)
*14x All-Star selection (by|1992, by|1993, by|1994, by|1995, by|1996, by|1997, by|1998, by|1999, by|2000, by|2001, by|2004, by|2005, by|2006, by|2007)Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 30, 1971 in
Manatí, Puerto Rico ), also known as "Pudge Rodríguez" [cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/25/sports/baseball/25pudge.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |title= The Tigers' Rodriguez Is Now a Svelte Pudge |accessdate=2008-04-25 |last=Eligon |first=John |publisher="The New York Times "] and "I-Rod", [cite web |url= http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/rodriiv01.shtml |title= Ivan Rodriguez Statistics |accessdate=2008-04-25 |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com ] is aMajor League Baseball catcher for theNew York Yankees . He has also played for the Texas Rangers,Florida Marlins , andDetroit Tigers . He is ranked as one of the greatest defensive catchers in the history of the major leagues. [ [http://www.pudge.org/newsArchive/20030122_stunned.htm "Marlins stunned by Pudge signing", "MLB.com"] , dated January 22, 2003, retrieved February 2, 2007; [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,993113,00.html?promoid=googlep "Q & A With Pete Rose", "Time.com"] , dated January 19, 2004, retrieved February 2, 2007] Rodríguez was awarded theAmerican League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award in 1999.Rodríguez won the World Series with the Marlins in 2003, and also played in the
2006 World Series while with the Tigers.Early years
Iván Rodríguez was born in
Manatí, Puerto Rico , and raised in Vega Baja. His father, Juan, worked for a U.S.-based construction company, and his mother, Eva Torres, was an elementary school teacher.cite news|url=http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/2001/vol5n13/ProfilePudgeRodrig-en.html|title=Puerto Rico Profile: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez|publisher=Puerto Rico Herald|date=2001-03-30|accessdate=2008-03-11] Iván's first job involved delivering flyers in the shopping malls in Puerto Rico.cite web| url=http://www.pudge.org/newsArchive/personalTidBits.htm| title=Personal tid-bits| publisher=Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Foundation | accessdate=2007-12-29] He learned baseball at an early age, his biggest rival being Juan González, who he often played against in his youth. As aLittle League player, he moved from pitcher to catcher because his father, who was also his coach, thought he was throwing too hard and scaring opposing players with his pitches. [cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050905&content_id=1197498&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |title= Who is the Greatest Latino Catcher? |accessdate=2008-04-24 |last= Sanchez |first= Jesse |publisher=MLB.com ] Rodríguez attended Lino Padron Rivera High School, where he was discovered by scout Luis Rosa. Rosa reported that "he showed leadership at 16 that I’d seen in few kids. He knew where he was going." Rodríguez signed a contract with the Texas Rangers in July 1988, at the age of 16, and began his professional baseball career.Playing career
Minor leagues
Rodríguez made his professional debut in 1989 at the age of 17 as catcher for the Gastonia Rangers of the South Atlantic League. In his first game, Rodríguez had three hits in three at bats (3-for-3) against Spartanburg. Playing in the
Florida State League in by|1990, Rodríguez was selected the best catcher in the league and named to the all-star team. He placed 15th in the league in batting at .287, and led his team inruns batted in , with 55. He also played in thePuerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPPR) over the offseason. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1990 |title= Career biography (1990) |accessdate=2007-12-29 |publisher= MLB.com ]Texas Rangers
When Rodríguez made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers on June 20, 1991, he became the youngest person to catch in a major league game that season. [cite web |url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL_1991_t.shtml |title=1991 American League Expanded Leaderboards |accessdate=2008-04-25 |publisher=baseball-reference.com] He immediately established himself as an excellent hitter who was also proficient in throwing out would-be base-stealers. In fact, no other catcher in the past 35 years of the League has been as successful at this aspect of the game, with Rodríguez throwing out 48% of attempted basestealers through May 2006. This was far more than the runner-up during this period, the late
Thurman Munson . [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/fielding?groupId=9&season=2006&seasonType=2&split=78&sortColumn=catcherCaughtStealingPct |title= MLB Player Fielding Stats |accessdate=2008-04-25 |publisher=ESPN.com] He started many of the Rangers games at the end of the season, including 81 of the last 102. Rodríguez became the youngest player in the history of the Texas Rangers to hit ahome run , on August 30, 1991 in a game facing theKansas City Royals . Rodríguez hit the home run off right-handerStorm Davis . He was named to the Major League Baseball (MLB) Rookie all-star team by bothTopps andBaseball America and finished in fourth place in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. He also placed first in throwing out runners, catching 48.6 percent of runners attempting to steal. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1991 |title= Career biography (1991) |accessdate=2007-12-29 |publisher= MLB.com ]In 1992, Rodríguez started 112 games behind the plate and was the youngest player in the major leagues for the second year in a row. Playing in the Puerto Rico Winter League, he had a .262
batting average playing in 17 games for Mayaguez. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1992 |title= Career biography (1992) |accessdate=2007-12-29 |publisher= MLB.com ] In the 1993 season, Rodríguez batted .273, had 66runs batted in and hit 10 home runs, ranking fourth, fifth, and fifth on his team respectively. He had a stretch of eight straight hits over two games facing the Kansas City Royals on July 26 and July 28. He played the final month of the regular season in the Puerto Rican Winter league, where he had a .425 batting average and 14 runs batted in for Mayaguez. Rodríguez was named to the Puerto Rican Winter League all-star team and was also the league Most Valuable Player (MVP). [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1993 |title= Career biography (1993) |accessdate=2007-12-29 |publisher= MLB.com ]In 1994, Rodríguez led the American League in batting average among catchers, at .298. He placed high on his team in many statistics, placing second in batting average (.298), tied for third in doubles (19), and fourth in hits, total bases, runs, home runs, walks, games, and at bats. He also caught
Kenny Rogers 'perfect game on1994-07-28 . Rodríguez played in the Puerto Rican Winter League over the winter, but he suffered a severe knee injury which kept him from playing for the rest of the season. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1994 |title= Career biography (1994) |accessdate=2007-12-29 |publisher= MLB.com]Playing for the Rangers during the 1995 season, Rodríguez led his team in batting, total bases, and doubles, at .303, 221, and 32 respectively. He was names the Texas Rangers' player of the year. Rodríguez also had his first multi-home run game while playing the
Boston Red Sox on July 13, hitting both off all-star pitcherRoger Clemens . He also played for Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League during the offseason. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1995 |title= Career biography (1995) |accessdate=2007-12-29 |publisher= MLB.com ]In 1996, Rodríguez set an MLB record for most doubles by a catcher, amassing 44 doubles over the course of the season. This broke the previous mark of 42, set by
Mickey Cochrane in 1930. He also set the major league record for at-bats by a catcher in a single season, with 639, which surpassedJohnny Bench 's record of 621 in 1970. He led the Texas Rangers in doubles, at bats, hits, and runs scored. He was selected to the Major League Baseball All-Star team that played a series in Japan against the Japanese all-stars after the season was over. He again played in the Puerto Rican Winter League this season. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1996 |title= Career biography (1996) |accessdate=2007-12-29 |publisher= MLB.com ] In the 1997 season, Rodríguez also placed first among catchers in many categories in Major League Baseball. These categories were hits, runs, runs batted in, and doubles. He placed second in home runs among catchers, below onlySandy Alomar, Jr. of theCleveland Indians , who had 20 home runs. He appeared on the cover ofSports Illustrated on the week of August 4. This marked the fourth time a player from the Texas Rangers had been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Rodríguez played in the Puerto Rican Winter League yet again, where he had a .285batting average , 4 home runs, and 18runs batted in over the course of 32 games playing for Caguas. [cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1997 |title= Career biography (1997) |accessdate=2007-12-29 |publisher= MLB.com]In the 1998 season, Rodríguez led the Texas Rangers in batting average at .325, which placed eighth in the
American League . He also had 75 multi-hit games and 186 hits, finishing seventh and ninth in MLB respectively. He finished second on the Rangers in hits, total bases, triples, total bases, andslugging percentage . Rodríguez was third on the team in doubles,home runs , andstolen base s, and fourth in runs batted in. He had his 1000th in a game facing theCleveland Indians on May 10 of that season. Rodríguez also became the first catcher in the history of Major League Baseball to have two or more seasons with 40 or more doubles. He was selected to the American League All-Star Team again, and he was also named to all-star teams by theAssociated Press ,The Sporting News , andBaseball America . [cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1998 |title= Career biography (1998) |accessdate=2007-12-30 |publisher= MLB.com]In 1999, Rodríguez was selected American League MVP by Major League Baseball. That season, he set a new record for home runs in a single season among catchers, with 35. This record was later broken by
Javy López of theAtlanta Braves in 2003, who hit 42. [cite web |url= http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_hr2.shtml|title= Baseball Almanac home run records|accessdate=2007-12-30 |publisher= Baseball Almanac] Rodríguez was also the first catcher to have more than 30 home runs, 100 runs batted in, and 100 runs scored in the history of Major League Baseball. In addition, he holds the distinction of being the first catcher in the history of the league to amass more than 20 home runs and 20stolen base s. From May 8, 1999 to June 1, 1999, Rodríguez had a career high 20 gamehitting streak . He had 25stolen base s, which was fifth most among catchers in the history of the league. He led the league in times grounded into adouble play , with 31. Rodríguez was only the ninth catcher in the history of Major League Baseball to win the Most Valuable Player award, and he was the first to win it sinceThurman Munson in 1976. He was named on all of the ballots, getting seven first place votes and six second place votes. Rodríguez was the sixth Puerto Rican to win the award, and the fourth player from the Texas Rangers to win it. He also won theSilver Slugger Award for the sixth time in a row and was selected Most Valuable Player by "Baseball Digest ". He was again named to all-star teams by theAssociated Press ,The Sporting News , andBaseball America .cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=1999 |title= Career biography (1999) |accessdate=2007-12-30 |publisher= MLB.com]In 2000, Rodríguez appeared in just 91 games, which was the fewest that he appeared in since his first season in the league, 1991. On July 24, Rodríguez suffered a season-ending injury in a game against the
Anaheim Angels . While trying to make a throw to second base, his thumb made contact with the swing ofMo Vaughn 's bat. He fractured his right thumb and underwent surgery the next day. This injury caused him to miss the rest of the season. Even though he was injured, he was still named to the second-team of the Baseball America Major League Baseball All-Star Team. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=2000 |title= Career biography (2000) |accessdate=2007-01-17 |publisher= MLB.com ] Rodríguez returned to full action in 2001 and had another all-star season. He was selected to his ninth straightMLB All-Star Game in a row, which tied the all time record set byJohnny Bench . He also tied Bench's record of ten straight Rawlings Gold Glove Awards in a row. He batted .308, making 2001 his seventh straight season with a batting average of over .300. He had 25 home runs, 136 hits, and 65 runs batted in. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=2001 |title= Career biography (2001) |accessdate=2007-01-17 |publisher= MLB.com ] Rodríguez's final year with the Texas Rangers came in 2002. His .314 batting average was seventh best among American League players. This was his eighth season in a row with batting average of .300 or above. He also had 32 doubles, 2 triples, and 60 runs batted in while playing in 108 games for the Rangers. Rodríguez was placed on thedisabled list on April 23 after suffering aherniated disk on April 15. The injury did not require surgery, and he rehabilitated while playing for class A Charlotte. He later returned to the Rangers and played there for the remainder of the season. After the 2002 season his contract with Texas ran out and he became afree agent .Florida Marlins
Before the 2003 season Rodríguez signed with the
Florida Marlins for one year. By then a major-league veteran of over a decade, he helped lead the young team to victory in the World Series. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=2002 |title= Career biography (2002) |accessdate=2007-01-24 |publisher= MLB.com ] Rodríguez's played his first and only season with theFlorida Marlins in 2003. Over the off-season, he was signed to a one year deal with the Marlins after his contract expired with the Texas Rangers, and he opted out of the contract for free agency. During the 2003 regular season, he set many Marlins single season records for a catcher, such as batting average, at .297, and runs batted in, at 85. On March 31, Rodríguez became the tenth Marlins player ever to hit a home run on the team's first game of the season. On April 8, he set a Marlins single game record by drawing five walks in a game against theNew York Mets . He had a career high nine gamehitting streak from June 24 to July 2, during which he batted .500 with seven doubles, two triples, and four home runs. From June 24 to July 1, he drove in a run for eight consecutive games, another single season record for the Florida Marlins. In the post-season, he played with Marlins during their second World Series run and was namedNational League Championship Series Most Valuable Player for the first time in his career. He also closed out theNational League Division Series by holding onto the ball during a dramatic game-ending collision at the plate withJ.T. Snow in Game Four. He chose not to return to the Marlins the following the 2003 season.Detroit Tigers
Before the 2004 season Rodríguez signed with the
Detroit Tigers . [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=2003 |title= Career biography (2003) |accessdate=2007-01-25 |publisher= MLB.com ] In 2004, he was selected to theMLB All-Star Game for the 11th time in his career and for his 10th time as a starting player, joining Johnny Bench andMike Piazza as the only Major League Baseball catchers to start an All-Star game 10 times or more in their career. He also won his 11th consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award, making him the first player on the Detroit Tigers to win the award sinceGary Pettis won it in 1989. He won his seventh career Silver Slugger Award, tied withVictor Martinez of theCleveland Indians . He was fourth in theAmerican League in batting average and fourth among all Major League Baseball catchers. On October 1, he recorded his 1,000th career RBI in a game against theTampa Bay Devil Rays . [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=2004 |title= Career biography (2004) |accessdate=2007-01-27 |publisher= MLB.com ] The 2005 season was another all-star year for Rodríguez. He was selected to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game for the twelfth time in his career, and he participated in theCentury 21 Home Run Derby on the day before the all-star game. In the home run derby, he finished second toBobby Abreu of thePhiladelphia Phillies . By the end of the season, he batted .276 with 14 home runs and 50 runs batted in. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=2005 |title= Career biography (2005) |accessdate=2007-01-31 |publisher= MLB.com ] On October 26, 2005, Major League Baseball named him the catcher on theirLatino Legends Team .In 2006, Rodríguez returned to throwing out runners attempting to steal a base at a very high percentage, as he did in his earlier career; he was first in the league in this category, throwing out 45.7 percent of all runners attempting to steal a base. [ cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=121358&y=2006 |title= Career biography (2006) |accessdate=2007-01-31 |publisher= MLB.com ] On May 9, 2006, Rodríguez played
first base for the Tigers. That game, a 7–6 loss to theBaltimore Orioles , was the first time that he played a position other than catcher in his 1,914 Major League games. [ [http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060509&content_id=1445221&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det Kerzel, Pete, "Notes: Pudge nudged to first", "MLB.com"] dated May 9, 2006, URL retrieved March 6, 2007] On August 15, 2006, he also made his first Major League appearance at second base after regular second basemanPlácido Polanco was injured in a game in Boston. On April 16, 2007, he batted in 6 runs on the way to a 12–5 victory over theKansas City Royals . He caughtJustin Verlander 'sno-hitter , the second no-hitter he's caught in his career, on June 12 of that year. In 2007, Rodríguez walked only 1.8 percent of his plate appearances, the lowest percentage in the major leagues. [cite web |url= http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2007 |title= Baseball Leaderboard |accessdate=2008-04-25 |publisher=Fan Graphs] On October 9, the Tigers announced that they were picking up the fifth-year, 13-million-dollar option on Rodríguez's contract, keeping him on the Tigers team through at least the 2008 season. The team could have bought out the option for three million dollars and allowed him to become afree agent .In spring training in 2008 he led the major leagues, with 8 home runs. He recently got his 2,500th hit. [cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable_player_stats.jsp?teamPosCode=all&statType=1&statType=Overview§ion1=null&timeFrame=1&Submit=Submit&c_id=mlb&sitSplit=&venueID=&baseballScope=mlb&timeSubFrame=23&&sortByStat=HR |title= Ivan Rodriguez statistics |accessdate=2008-04-25 |publisher=MLB.com] Manager
Jim Leyland had said that he would rotate Rodríguez andBrandon Inge at catcher every other day.New York Yankees
On July 30, by|2008, Rodríguez was traded to the
New York Yankees for relief pitcherKyle Farnsworth . [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3511535 |title=Yankees find their catcher for stretch, trade for Rodríguez |accessdate=2008-08-05 |work= |publisher=ESPN.com |date= ] He has started most of Yankees games since being traded, because the Yankees' former starting catcher,Jorge Posada , was injured for the second half of the season. With his customary number 7–which he wore throughout his career up to that point–retired forMickey Mantle , Rodríguez changed his jersey number to 12.World Baseball Classic
Rodríguez represented Puerto Rico in the
2006 World Baseball Classic . He was part of a team that was mostly consisted of Major League Baseball players, among whom wereCarlos Beltrán ,Javier Vázquez ,Bernie Williams andCarlos Delgado . [cite web| url=http://ww2.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/rosters/index.jsp?sid=t897| title=Puerto Rico Roster| publisher=Major League Baseball| accessdate=2007-12-30] Rodríguez was one of several Major League Baseball players that announced commitment to represent their birthplaces before the organization of the tournament. [cite web| url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20051205&content_id=1275939&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb| title=WBC picture becomes clearer in Dallas| author=Barry M. Bloom| publisher=Major League Baseball| date=2005-12-05 | accessdate=2007-12-30]Steroid allegations
In 2005, Rodríguez was accused—along with fellow Texas Ranger teammates Juan González and
Rafael Palmeiro —by former Major League Baseball playerJosé Canseco , of using steroids. Canseco stated that the players used the steroids when they were all Texas Rangers players in 1992. The three players were featured in a section of José Canseco's 2005 book, "". Rodríguez denied Canseco's allegations. [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=1986985 |title=Ivan Rodriguez denies using steroids|accessdate=2008-04-25 |publisher=ESPN.com ]Personal life
Rodríguez married Maribel Rivera on June 20, 1991. That same night, having been called up from triple-A by the Texas Rangers, he made his major league debut, in which he threw out two White Sox would-be base stealers. The couple and their three children divide their time between
Colleyville, Texas ,Miami, Florida and Puerto Rico. In 1993, Iván and Maribel founded the "Ivan "Pudge" Rodríguez Foundation" whose purpose is to help families in Puerto Rico,Dallas andFort Worth, Texas . [cite web| url=http://www.pudge.org/default.htm| title=Quick Facts About the Foundation| publisher=Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Foundation | accessdate=2007-12-29] Rodríguez has also stated that theMake-a-Wish Foundation is one of his charities of choice.ee also
*
List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
*List of major league players with 2,000 hits
*List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
*List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
*List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
*Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game References
External links
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Persondata
NAME = Rodríguez, Iván
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Pudge, I-Rod
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Major League Baseball All-Star catcher
DATE OF BIRTH = November 30, 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH = Manatí,Puerto Rico
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =
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