Highlighted Year: Ellie Rodriguez, 1969

Catcher, Kansas City Royals

Age:  23 (May 24)

1^st season with Royals

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 185 

Prior to 1969:

Born in Puerto Rico, Eliseo Rodriguez moved to New York City with his family in 1953 where he played stickball in his youth. He attended Yankee games and became a fan of star catcher Yogi Berra. Rodriguez boxed and played baseball. After winning two bouts in a Golden Gloves competition, a broken finger caused him to shift his focus to baseball. Following his high school graduation in 1964, he played for a Spanish League team that won 16 straight games and defeated a Puerto Rican squad for the championship. Rodriguez’s performance drew the interest of major league scouts and he signed with the Kansas City Athletics. Appearing in 17 games with Daytona Beach of the Class A Florida State League in 1964, he batted .238 and was shifted to Wytheville of the Rookie-level Appalachian League where he hit .354 in 56 games, while also developing his technique behind the plate. Taken by the Yankees in the first-year draft, he was assigned to Greensboro of the Carolina League in 1965 and batted .272 with 45 RBIs and a .386 on-base percentage. Advancing to Columbus of the Class AA Southern League in 1966, he was a league All-Star while hitting .233 with a .322 OBP. Rodriguez split 1967 between Binghamton of the Class AA Eastern League and Syracuse of the Class AAA International League and batted a combined .246 with a .321 OBP. He spent the 1967-68 offseason playing in Puerto Rico with the champion Caguas Criollos. Rodriguez split 1968 between Syracuse and the Yankees. In 45 games with Syracuse he hit .291 with a .396 OBP and in nine games with the Yankees he batted .208 with a .296 OBP and performed well defensively. In the offseason he was chosen by the Royals in the AL expansion draft.

1969 Season Summary

Appeared in 95 games

C – 90, PH – 7

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 308

At Bats – 267

Runs – 27

Hits – 63

Doubles – 10

Triples – 0

Home Runs – 2

RBI – 20

Bases on Balls – 31

Int. BB – 6

Strikeouts – 26

Stolen Bases – 3

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .236

OBP - .333

Slugging Pct. - .296

Total Bases – 79

GDP – 8

Hit by Pitches – 8

Sac Hits – 2

Sac Flies – 0

 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 8, HR - 2, RBI - 14, AVG - .260, OBP - .342

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Most hits, game – 3 (in 4 AB) at California 5/3, (in 4 AB) vs. Oakland 6/18, (in 4 AB) at Minnesota 7/8, (in 5 AB) at Chi. White Sox 7/20

Longest hitting streak – 8 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 4 AB) at Boston 6/8, (in 4 AB) at NY Yankees 6/9

HR at home – 0

HR on road – 2

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 at NY Yankees 6/9

Pinch-hitting – 1 for 7 (.143)

Fielding

Chances – 477

Put Outs – 433

Assists – 39

Errors – 5

Passed Balls – 8

DP - 2

Pct. - .990 

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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In their inaugural season, the Royals went 69-93 to finish fourth in the AL Western Division, 28 games behind the division-winning Minneesota Twins, giving them the best record of any of the four major league expansion teams that year while drawing 902,414 fans to Municipal Stadium. Rodriguez had a strong first half as the club’s regular catcher, but a batting slump in the season’s second half had him splitting time with Buck Martinez.

Aftermath of 1969:

Rodriguez was platooned with Ed Kirkpatrick, who hit with more power, in 1970. Appearing in 80 games he batted .225 with a .312 OBP while hitting only one home run, as opposed to Kirkpatrick’s 18. In 1971 he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, where he became the starting catcher and led the league by throwing out 58 % of baserunners who attempted to steal on him. His hitting remained a weakness as he batted .210 with a .311 OBP and 12 extra-base hits. An adjustment to his batting stance led to a stronger performance in 1972, as he hit .285 with a .382 OBP and was an All-Star for the second time. The Brewers briefly contended in 1973, leading the AL East on June 17. Rodriguez overcame a broken left wrist and proved to be an effective team leader during the surge. The club slumped thereafter, Rodriguez’s batting average dropped as well, and the highly-touted Darrell Porter took over the regular catching duties. Rodriguez ended up batting .269 with a .376 OBP and 9 extra base hits while throwing out 52 % of baserunners attempting to steal. Following the season, he was dealt to the California Angels where he took over as the starting backstop in 1974. He responded by hitting .253 with a .373 OBP, 20 doubles, 7 home runs, and 36 RBIs. Defensively he led AL catchers with 782 putouts, 75 assists, and 56 runners caught stealing. Having drawn criticism from Dick Williams, who took over as manager midway through the season, Rodriguez found himself in competition with veteran Andy Etchebarren, a trade deadline pickup, for playing time. For the year he appeared in 90 games and batted .235 with a .380 OBP and 9 extra-base hits. Prior to the 1976 season he was traded to the Dodgers where he saw limited action and hit .212. A broken collarbone suffered in winter action in Puerto Rico had Rodriguez starting the 1977 season on the disabled list. Released by the Dodgers in May, he signed with Pittsburgh and was assigned to the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League where he batted .224 in 49 games. He spent the next three seasons in the Mexican League  where he co-managed the Coatzacoalcos Azules in 1979. Following his last active season as a player in 1982, he retired. For his major league career, Rodriguez batted .245 with 533 hits that included 76 doubles, 6 triples, and 16 home runs. He scored 220 runs and compiled 203 RBIs and a .356 OBP. With the Royals he batted .231 with 115 hits, 18 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 35 RBIs, 52 runs scored, and a .323 OBP. The two-time All-Star was more appreciated for his defense, although his batting was occasionally, but not consistently, productive. Following his playing career, he scouted and coached in Puerto Rico.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.