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EspañolIVáN RODRíGUEZ
(Redirected from Ivan Rodriguez)
'Iván Rodríguez Torres' (born November 30, 1971, in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a professional baseball player currently playing for the Detroit Tigers. Iván is considered by many to be the greatest defensive catcher ever.[1][2] He won the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 2003, and again reached the World Series as the starting catcher for the 2006 Detroit Tigers.
Rodriguez 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, Rodriguez went 3-for-3 against Spartanburg. He made his first Major League hit against the White Sox.
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[3]---the youngest catcher in the expansion era was Brian Milner of the 1978 Toronto Blue Jays at 18 years 7 months. 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 has been as successful at this aspect of the game, with Rodríguez throwing out 48% of attempted basestealers through May 2006, far more than the runner-up during this period, the late Thurman Munson. He is famously successful at pick off plays at first base. Rodríguez was awarded the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1999.
Although he has had the nickname "Pudge" since his youth, Rodríguez was often compared early on to the veteran catcher Carlton Fisk, who was also called "Pudge." Fisk retired early in Rodríguez's career, and fans and sportswriters viewed it as the passing of the torch from one Pudge to another.
When his contract with Texas ran out following the 2002 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. In the off-season, he left Florida to sign with the Tigers. On October 26, 2005, Major League Baseball named him the catcher on their Latino Legends Team.
On May 9, 2006, Rodríguez played first base for the Tigers. That game, a 7-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, was the first time that he played a position other than catcher in his 1,914 Major League games.[4] On August 15, 2006, he also made his first Major League appearance at second base, after regular second baseman Plácido 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 the Kansas City Royals. As of August 1, 2007, Rodriguez had walked only 1.4% of his plate appearances, the lowest percentage in the major leagues.[1]
★ Rodriguez has caught two no-hitters for two different pitchers. The first one was in 1994 when he caught a perfect game by Kenny Rogers. The most recent one was on June 12, 2007 when he caught the no-hitter thrown by Justin Verlander.
★ Rodriguez married his wife, the former Maribel Rivera, on the morning of June 20, 1991 after being called up from triple-A by the Texas Rangers. They are now divorced. He made his major league debut that same night, throwing out two White Sox would-be base stealers.
★ Top 500 home run hitters of all time
★ 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
★ Florida Marlins all-time roster
1. "Marlins stunned by Pudge signing", ''MLB.com'', dated 22 January 2003, retrieved 2 February 2007
2. "Q & A With Pete Rose", ''Time.com'', dated 19 January 2004, retrieved 2 February 2007
3. "1991 American League Expanded Leaderboards", ''baseball-reference.com'', retrieved 2 February 2007
4. Kerzel, Pete, "Notes: Pudge nudged to first", ''MLB.com'' dated 9 May 2006, URL retrieved 6 March 2007
★
'Iván Rodríguez Torres' (born November 30, 1971, in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a professional baseball player currently playing for the Detroit Tigers. Iván is considered by many to be the greatest defensive catcher ever.[1][2] He won the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 2003, and again reached the World Series as the starting catcher for the 2006 Detroit Tigers.
| Contents |
| Playing career |
| Trivia |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Playing career
Rodriguez 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, Rodriguez went 3-for-3 against Spartanburg. He made his first Major League hit against the White Sox.
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[3]---the youngest catcher in the expansion era was Brian Milner of the 1978 Toronto Blue Jays at 18 years 7 months. 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 has been as successful at this aspect of the game, with Rodríguez throwing out 48% of attempted basestealers through May 2006, far more than the runner-up during this period, the late Thurman Munson. He is famously successful at pick off plays at first base. Rodríguez was awarded the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1999.
Rodríguez tries to calm former Tigers pitcher Mike Maroth after giving up a 2-run home run.
Although he has had the nickname "Pudge" since his youth, Rodríguez was often compared early on to the veteran catcher Carlton Fisk, who was also called "Pudge." Fisk retired early in Rodríguez's career, and fans and sportswriters viewed it as the passing of the torch from one Pudge to another.
When his contract with Texas ran out following the 2002 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. In the off-season, he left Florida to sign with the Tigers. On October 26, 2005, Major League Baseball named him the catcher on their Latino Legends Team.
On May 9, 2006, Rodríguez played first base for the Tigers. That game, a 7-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, was the first time that he played a position other than catcher in his 1,914 Major League games.[4] On August 15, 2006, he also made his first Major League appearance at second base, after regular second baseman Plácido 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 the Kansas City Royals. As of August 1, 2007, Rodriguez had walked only 1.4% of his plate appearances, the lowest percentage in the major leagues.[1]
Trivia
★ Rodriguez has caught two no-hitters for two different pitchers. The first one was in 1994 when he caught a perfect game by Kenny Rogers. The most recent one was on June 12, 2007 when he caught the no-hitter thrown by Justin Verlander.
★ Rodriguez married his wife, the former Maribel Rivera, on the morning of June 20, 1991 after being called up from triple-A by the Texas Rangers. They are now divorced. He made his major league debut that same night, throwing out two White Sox would-be base stealers.
See also
★ Top 500 home run hitters of all time
★ 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
★ Florida Marlins all-time roster
References
1. "Marlins stunned by Pudge signing", ''MLB.com'', dated 22 January 2003, retrieved 2 February 2007
2. "Q & A With Pete Rose", ''Time.com'', dated 19 January 2004, retrieved 2 February 2007
3. "1991 American League Expanded Leaderboards", ''baseball-reference.com'', retrieved 2 February 2007
4. Kerzel, Pete, "Notes: Pudge nudged to first", ''MLB.com'' dated 9 May 2006, URL retrieved 6 March 2007
External links
★
| Accomplishments |
|---|
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