Iván Rodríguez
From BR Bullpen
Ivan Rodriguez Torres (Pudge or I-Rod)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 190-205 lb.
- High School Lino Padron Rivera High School
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[edit] Biographical Information
Iván Rodriguez has caught more games than anyone in major league history and is one of the greatest defensive catchers of all-time, with 13 Gold Gloves to his credit plus 13 All-Star appearances. A base-stealer's worst nightmare, Rodriguez led the majors in 2006 by thowing out almost 50 percent of base stealers. After 1836 games in the field as a catcher, Rodriguez played his first game at first base on May 9, 2006. In 2007, he passed Gary Carter to become the all-time leader for putouts among catchers. In 2009, he passed Carlton Fisk for most games caught.
Despite being a .300 career hitter, Rodriguez is a free swinger who seldom walks (only 11 BB during 2005, 9 BB during 2007 while getting more than 90 strike outs during both year) and, as a result, has a rather low career OBP of .337 - very low for a future Hall of Famer. His career has been tainted by steroid accusations by former teammate Jose' Canseco.
Pudge began his career with the Texas Rangers, and is still admired by many Texas fans according to a poll conducted in 2007 on the Rangers' MLB.com website. When he signed as a free agent in 2003 with the Florida Marlins, they went on to win their second and most recent World Series title. He was also a member of the losing 2006 World Series Detroit Tigers.
On July 30, 2008, Rodriguez was traded to the New York Yankees in return for hard-throwing reliever Kyle Farnsworth; the trade came on the same day on which the Yankees announced that regular catcher Jorge Posada would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his throwing shoulder. He ended up sharing catching duties with Jose Molina during the reaminder of the season and became a free agent. After remaining unsigned for most of the winter, he found a home with the Houston Astros for the 2009 season after a solid performance in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Rodriguez has over 500 doubles and is # 1 on the all-time list for doubles by players who were primarily catchers.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 1991 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- 14-time AL All-Star (1992-2001 & 2004-2007)
- AL MVP (1999)
- 2003 NLCS MVP
- 13-time AL Gold Glove Winner (1992-2001, 2004, 2006 & 2007)
- 7-time AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1994-1999 & 2004)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 5 (1997-2001)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1999)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1999)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1996 & 1999)
- Won a World Series with the Florida Marlins in 2003
| AL MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
| Juan Gonzalez | Ivan Rodriguez | Jason Giambi |
[edit] Records Held
- Putouts, catcher, career, 12510
- Gold Gloves for a catcher, 13
- Games played at catcher, career, 2227+
