Ivan Rodriguez (2017)


Date of Birth: 11/27/1971
Birthplace: Manati, Puerto Rico

Ivan Rodriguez started playing baseball at a very young age and by the time he was eight, he was playing in Little League games. He started as a pitcher and a third baseman before being moved to the catcher position.

Texas Rangers

Rodriguez signed with the Texas Rangers in July, 1988, when he was just 16 years old. He played in the minor leagues in 1989 and 1990.

Rodriguez played with the Rangers from 1991 through 2002. In his first season in the major leagues, he batted .264 with 74 hits in 88 games.

One of major league baseball's all-time best defensive catchers, Rodriguez won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1992 through 2001, and he led catchers in caught stealing percentage nine times (1992, 1996-2001, 2005, 2006). He also led AL catchers in putouts two times (1996, 1998).

In 1992, Rodriguez batted .260 with 109 hits in 123 games. The following season, he batted .273 with 129 hits, 28 doubles, and 66 RBIs in 137 games. He won his second Gold Glove in 1993.

From 1994 through 1999, Rodriguez won both consecutive Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger awards. In the strike shortened 1994 season, he batted .298 with 108 hits, 19 doubles, 16 home runs, and 57 RBIs in 99 games. The following season was an even better one. He had 149 hits, 32 doubles, 12 home runs, 67 RBIs, and a .303 batting average in 1995.

In 1996, Rodriguez had a career high 47 doubles in 153 games. He batted .300 with 192 hits, 19 home runs, and 86 RBIs. His batting average was even higher in 1997 (.313) and 1998 (.321). He finished the 1997 season with 187 hits, 34 doubles, 20 home runs, and 77 RBIs, and in 1998, he had 186 hits, 40 doubles, 21 home runs, and 91 RBIs. Defensively, he led AL catchers in putouts in 1996 (850) and in 1998 (864).

Rodriguez had his best season in 1999, when he won the AL MVP award. He had career highs in hits (199), home runs (35), RBIs (113), and stolen bases (25). He batted .332 in 144 games. Baseball Digest named him the Player of the Year in 1999.

Rodriguez had season ending thumb surgery in 2000. He finished the season with a career high batting average of .347, 126 hits, 27 doubles, 27 home runs, and 83 RBIs in 91 games. The following year, he batted .308 with 136 hits, 24 doubles, 25 home runs, and 65 RBIs in 111 games.

In 2002, his last season with the Rangers, Rodriguez spent time on the DL with a herniated disk. He finished the season with 128 hits, 32 doubles, 19 home runs, 60 RBIs, and a .314 batting average in 108 games.

Miami Marlins

Rodriguez became a free agent on October 28, 2002. He signed with the Miami Marlins on January 28, 2003.

Rodriguez was named the Baseball Digest Player of the Year in his only season with Miami. He finished the 2003 regular season with 152 hits, 36 doubles, 16 home runs, 85 RBIs, and a .297 batting average in 144 games. He excelled in the postseason and he won the NLCS MVP award. In 17 games, he had 21 hits, 5 doubles, 3 home runs, 17 RBIs, and a .313 batting average. He walked 9 times and struck out 12 times.

Detroit Tigers

Rodriguez again became a free agent on November 2, 2003. He signed with the Detroit Tigers on February 6, 2004. He played with the Tigers from 2004 through July, 2008.

In 2004, Rodriguez won his seventh and last Silver Slugger award and his eleventh Gold Glove. He finished the season with 176 hits, 32 doubles, 19 home runs, 86 RBIs, and a .334 batting average in 135 games. The following season, his batting average dropped to .276.

Rodriguez won his final two Gold Gloves in 2006 and 2007. He batted .300 or better for the last time in 2006, finishing the season with 164 hits, 28 doubles, 69 RBIs, and a .300 batting average in 136 games. The following year, he batted .281 in 129 games.

The Tigers traded Rodriguez to the New York Yankees on July 30, 2008. He finished the season with 110 hits and a .276 batting average in 82 games with Detroit and 33 games with the Yankees.

Final Years as a Player

Rodriguez became a free agent on October 30, 2008. He signed with the Houston Astros on March 20, 2009. After 93 games with the Astros, he was traded to his first team, the Rangers, on August 18th. He finished the 2009 season with 106 hits and a .249 batting average.

Rodriguez became a free agent again on November 5, 2009. A month later, on December 7th, he signed with the Washington Nationals. He spent time on the DL in 2010 with a back sprain. He finished the season with 106 hits and a .266 batting average in 111 games. In 2011, he played in just 44 games and he batted .218.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Gold Glove (13 times)
  • Silver Slugger award (7 times)
  • AL MVP
  • Baseball Digest Player of the Year
  • NLCS MVP
  • Led all AL catchers in caught stealing percentage (9 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Rodriguez in 21 seasons (1991-2011) in the major leagues include:

  • 7 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 199 in 1999
  • 9 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 47 in 1996
  • 5 seasons with 20 or more home runs, with a high of 35 in 1999
  • 10 seasons with a batting average of .300 or better, with a high of .347 in 2000
  • 9 seasons with a caught stealing percentage of 50% or better, with a high of 60% in 2001

Career batting statistics for Rodriguez include:

  • 2,543 games played
  • 2,844 hits
  • 572 doubles
  • 311 home runs
  • 127 stolen bases
  • 1,332 RBIs
  • 1,474 strikeouts to 513 walks
  • .296 batting average
  • .334 on-base percentage
  • .798 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Rodriguez as a catcher include:

  • 2,427 games played
  • 1,227 assists
  • 14,864 putouts
  • 142 errors
  • .460 caught stealing percentage
  • .991 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Rodriguez include:

  • 5 postseasons
  • 40 games played
  • 153 at-bats
  • 39 hits
  • 9 doubles
  • 4 home runs
  • 1 stolen base
  • 25 RBIs
  • 32 strikeouts to 14 walks
  • .255 batting average

Post Playing Career

Rodriguez officially retired as a player on April 18, 2012. He was an analyst for Fox Sports Southwest in 2014.

Rodriguez was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017 on the first ballot with 76.0% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Ivan Rodriguez
ESPN - Ivan Rodriguez
Baseball Reference - Ivan Rodriguez

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