Catcher, Texas
Rangers
Age: 27
9th season
with Rangers
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’9” Weight: 205
Prior to 1999:
A native of
Puerto Rico, Rodriguez played Little League, where he first began his
development as a catcher, which continued in high school until he signed with
the Rangers at age 16. Initially assigned to Gastonia of the Class A South
Atlantic League in 1989, the 17-year-old batted only .238, but was impressive
behind the plate. He also picked up his long-term nickname of “Pudge”.
Rodriguez spent 1990 with Port Charlotte of the advanced Class A Florida State
League, where he hit .287. With the Tulsa Drillers of the Class AA Texas League
in 1991, he was batting .274 after 50 games and performing very well on defense
when he was called up to the Rangers in June due to an injury to catcher Geno
Petralli. At age 19, Rodriguez started 81 games behind the plate and hit .264.
He also threw out 34 of 70 baserunners attempting to steal against him (48.6 %)
and placed fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. The starting catcher from
the start in 1992, Rodriguez was sidelined for three weeks in June due to a
stress fracture in his back. He still went on to bat .260 in 123 games with 8
home runs and 37 RBIs. He also received his first Gold Glove in recognition of
his defensive prowess. His steady advancement continued in 1993 as he hit .273
with 28 doubles, 4 triples, and 10 home runs with 66 RBIs. He was once again
exceptional defensively. He added a Silver Slugger award to his list of
accomplishments following the strike-shortened 1994 season in which he batted
.298 with 16 home runs and 57 RBIs. He also was catcher for a perfect game
hurled by LHP Kenny Rogers. In 1995, Rodriguez batted .303 with 32 doubles, 12
home runs, and 67 RBIs over the course of 130 games. He again received Silver
Slugger recognition in addition to a Gold Glove. The Rangers topped the AL West
in 1996 and Rodriguez contributed a .300 average along with 47 doubles, 19 home
runs, and 86 RBIs. He placed tenth in league MVP balloting and hit .375 in the
four-game ALDS loss to the Yankees. He hit over .300 in both 1997 and ’98 with
20 home runs in ’97 and 21 in 1998. He received Silver Sluggers in addition to
Gold Gloves each year and had become established as an outstanding all-around
catcher.
1999 Season Summary
Appeared in 144
games
C – 141, DH – 1,
PH – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 630
At Bats – 600
[16]
Runs – 116 [7,
tied with Bernie Williams]
Hits – 199 [5]
Doubles – 29
Triples – 1
Home Runs – 35 [11,
tied with John Jaha]
RBI – 113 [14]
Bases on Balls
– 24
Int. BB – 2
Strikeouts – 64
Stolen Bases – 25
[14, tied with Kenny Lofton]
Caught Stealing
– 12 [3, tied with Juan Encarnacion & Jose Offerman]
Average - .332
[7]
OBP - .356
Slugging Pct. -
.558 [10]
Total Bases – 335
[7]
GDP – 31 [1]
Hit by Pitches
– 1
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 5
League-leading times
grounded into DPs was +6 ahead of runner-up Mike Bordick
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 15, RBI – 49, AVG - .295, SLG PCT - .487
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Most hits, game
– 5 (in 6 AB) vs. Kansas City 8/1
Longest hitting
streak – 20 games
HR at home – 12
HR on road – 23
Most home runs,
game – 2 on five occasions
Multi-HR games
– 5
Most RBIs, game
– 9 at Seattle 4/13
Pinch-hitting –
1 of 2 (.500)
Fielding
Chances - 940
Put Outs – 850
Assists – 83
Errors – 7
DP – 13
Pct. - .993
Postseason
Batting: 3 G (ALDS vs. NY Yankees)
PA – 12, AB – 12,
R – 0, H – 3, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 1, CS
– 0, AVG - .250, OBP - .250, SLG -.333, TB – 4, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF –
0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
Gold Glove
Silver Slugger
All-Star (Started
for AL at C)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Ivan Rodriguez,
Tex.: 252 pts. - 7 of 28 first place votes, 64% share
Pedro Martinez,
Bos.: 239 pts. –8 first place votes, 61% share
Roberto Alomar,
Clev.: 226 pts. – 4 first place votes, 58% share
Manny Ramirez,
Clev.: 226 pts. – 4 first place votes, 58% share
Rafael
Palmeiro, Tex.: 193 pts. – 4 first place votes, 49% share
(1 first place
vote for Derek Jeter,NYY, who ranked 6th)
Rangers went 95-67
to finish first in the AL Western Division by 8 games over the Oakland Athletics,
while leading the league in hits (1653), batting (.293), slugging (.479), and
total bases (2705), for their third division title in four years. Lost ALDS to
the New York Yankees, 3 games to 0.
Aftermath of ‘99:
Rodriguez’s
2000 season was cut short by a broken thumb. He still ended up batting .347
with 27 home runs and 83 RBIs in 91 games. Another strong season in 2001 was
also cut short, this time due to the need for knee surgery in September. But he
ended up with a .308 average and 25 home runs with 65 RBIs. Back problems
limited Rodriguez to 108 games in 2002, and his streak of consecutive All-Star
appearances ended at 10. He also failed to receive Gold Glove recognition.
Allowed to become a free agent in the offseason, he signed with the Florida
Marlins for one year and $10 million. Rodriguez provided outstanding play and
solid veteran leadership to a club that went on to win the World Series in
2003. He contributed a .297 average, 16 home runs, and 85 RBIs, and was MVP of
the NLCS triumph over the Cubs. A free agent once again, he signed a four-year,
$40 million pact with the Detroit Tigers. He was typically excellent in 2004,
hitting .334 with 19 home runs and 86 RBIs, regaining All-Star, Gold Glove, and
Silver Slugger recognition. He was still an All-Star in 2005, although his
average dropped to .276. He slugged 14 home runs and drove in 50 RBIs. The
Tigers won the AL pennant in 2006 and Rodriguez hit .300 with 13 home runs and
69 RBIs, in addition to Gold Glove play behind the plate and fine leadership.
Following a lesser year in 2007, he was traded to the New York Yankees at the
end of July during the 2008 season, where he filled in for injured catcher
Jorge Posada. For the year he batted .276 with 7 home runs and 35 RBIs.
Rodriguez signed on with the Houston Astros for 2009 In August, he was batting
.251 when he was dealt back to the Rangers, where he finished out the season.
His career concluded with two undistinguished seasons with the Washington
Nationals in 2010 and ’11. Overall for his major league career Rodriguez batted
.296 with 2844 hits that included 572 doubles, 51 triples, and 311 home runs.
He also compiled 1332 RBIs and 127 stolen bases. With the Rangers he hit .304
with 1747 hits, 352 doubles, 28 triples, 217 home runs, and 842 RBIs. In 40
postseason games he batted .255 with 4 home runs and 25 RBIs. He caught in a
record 2427 games and won 13 Gold Gloves. He also ranks first all-time with
14,864 put outs. A 14-time All-Star, Rodriguez finished in the Top 10 in MVP
voting four times, including the one win. Despite unfounded suspicions of
steroid use, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017. The Rangers
retired his #7. His son Dereck is a pitcher with some major league experience
to date.
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