Ivan Rodriguez Stats & Facts
Iván Rodríguez
Position: Catcher
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
5-9, 205lb (175cm, 92kg)
Born: November 27, 1971 in Manati, Puerto Rico
High School: Lino Padron Rivera (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico)
Debut: June 20, 1991 (15,973rd in major league history)
vs. CHW 4 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: September 28, 2011
vs. FLA 3 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 2017. (Voted by BBWAA on 336/442 ballots)
View Iván Rodríguez’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Rookie Status: Exceeded rookie limits during 1991 season
Agents: Scott Boras • Previously: Jeff Moorad
Full Name: Ivan Rodriguez
Nicknames: Pudge or I-Rod
Pronunciation: \ee-VAHN Rod-RI-gez\
Twitter: @Pudge_Rodriguez
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Notable Events and Chronology for Career
Biography
Ivan Rodriguez was the Rangers’ starting catcher at the age of 19 in 1991, and within a few years he had established himself as the best player at that position in all of baseball. He won ten Gold Glove Awards and was named to ten straight All-Star Games, and in 1999 he was the American League’s Most Valuable Player. He became a tremendous fan favorite in Texas, but left the team via free agency following a third straight injury-plagued season in 2002, signing with the Florida Marlins. In 2003, his 17 RBI in 17 post-season games and gritty determiniation behind the plate, led the underdog Marlins to the World Series title
Quotes About Ivan Rodriguez
“The squatty build that inspired Rodriguez’s nickname became outdated a couple of years ago, replaced by a slimmer, faster frame.” — MLB.com reporter Jason Beck, Jan. 2007
Best Season: 1999
Pudge won the AL MVP Award with his usual stellar defense and a huge season with the lumber. He batted .332 (seventh in the league), with a .558 slugging percentage, 199 hits, 335 total bases, 35 homers, 113 RBI, 116 runs scored and 25 stolen bases.
Factoids
Ivan Rodriguez and Johnny Bench are the only catchers to win as many as ten Gold Glove Awards.
When Rodriguez won the 1999 American League Most Valuable Player Award, he was voted runner-up for Ranger’s team MVP. Rafael Palmeiro won the honor.
Full Bio
Texas Rangers When Rodríguez made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers (baseball) on June 20, 1991, he became the youngest person to catch in a major league game that season at 19 years of age. He immediately established himself as an excellent hitter who was also proficient in throwing out would-be stolen base. In fact, no other catcher in the past 35 years of the League has been as successful at this aspect of the game, with Rodríguez throwing out 48% of attempted basestealers through May 2006. This was far more than the runner-up during this period, the late Thurman Munson. He started many of the Rangers games at the end of the season, including 81 of the last 102. Rodríguez became the youngest player in the history of the Texas Rangers to hit a home run, on August 30, 1991, in a game facing the Kansas City Royals. Rodríguez hit the home run off right-hander Storm Davis. He was named to the Major League Baseball (MLB) Rookie All-Star team by both Topps and Baseball America and finished in fourth place in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. He also placed first in throwing out runners, catching 48.6 percent of runners attempting to steal.
In 1992, Rodríguez started 112 games behind the plate and was the youngest player in the major leagues for the second year in a row. Playing in the Puerto Rico Winter League, he had a .262 batting average playing in 17 games for Mayaguez. In the 1993 season, Rodríguez batted .273, had 66 runs batted in and hit 10 home runs, ranking fourth, fifth, and fifth on his team respectively. He had a stretch of eight straight hits over two games facing the Kansas City Royals on July 26 and July 28. He played the final month of the regular season in the Puerto Rican Winter league, where he had a .425 batting average and 14 runs batted in for Mayaguez. Rodríguez was named to the Puerto Rican Winter League all-star team and was also the league Most Valuable Player (MVP).
In 1994, Rodríguez led the American League in batting average among catchers, at .298. He placed high on his team in many statistics, placing second in batting average (.298), tied for third in doubles (19), and fourth in hits, total bases, runs, home runs, walks, games, and at bats. He also caught Kenny Rogers (baseball)’ perfect game on 1994-07-28. Rodríguez played in the Puerto Rican Winter League over the winter, but he suffered a severe knee injury which kept him from playing for the rest of the season.
Playing for the Rangers during the 1995 season, Rodríguez led his team in batting, total bases, and doubles, at .303, 221, and 32 respectively. He was named the Texas Rangers’ player of the year. Rodríguez also had his first multi-home run game while playing the Boston Red Sox on July 13, hitting both off all-star pitcher Roger Clemens. He also played for Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League during the offseason.
In 1996, Rodríguez set an MLB record for most doubles by a catcher, amassing 44 doubles over the course of the season. This broke the previous mark of 42, set by Mickey Cochrane in 1930. He also set the major league record for at-bats by a catcher in a single season, with 639, which surpassed Johnny Bench’s record of 621 in 1970. He led the Texas Rangers in doubles, at bats, hits, and runs scored. He was selected to the Major League Baseball All-Star team that played a series in Japan against the Japanese all-stars after the season was over. He again played in the Puerto Rican Winter League this season. In the 1997 season, Rodríguez also placed first among catchers in many categories in Major League Baseball. These categories were hits, runs, runs batted in, and doubles. He placed second in home runs among catchers, below only Sandy Alomar, Jr. of the Cleveland Indians, who had 20 home runs. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on the week of August 4. This marked the fourth time a player from the Texas Rangers had been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Rodríguez played in the Puerto Rican Winter League yet again, where he had a .285 batting average, 4 home runs, and 18runs batted in over the course of 32 games playing for Caguas.
In the 1998 season, Rodríguez led the Texas Rangers in batting average at .325, which placed eighth in the American League. He also had 75 multi-hit games and 186 hits, finishing seventh and ninth in MLB respectively. He finished second on the Rangers in hits, total bases, triples, total bases, and slugging percentage. Rodríguez was third on the team in doubles, home runs, and stolen bases, and fourth in runs batted in. He had his 1000th hit in a game facing the Cleveland Indians on May 10 of that season. Rodríguez also became the first catcher in the history of Major League Baseball to have two or more seasons with 40 or more doubles. He was selected to the American League All-Star Team again, and he was also named to all-star teams by the Associated Press, The Sporting News, and Baseball America.
In 1999, Rodríguez was selected American League MVP by Major League Baseball. That season, he set a new record for home runs in a single season among catchers, with 35. This record was later broken by Javy López of the Atlanta Braves in 2003, who hit 42. Rodríguez was also the first catcher to have more than 30 home runs, 100 runs batted in, and 100 runs scored in the history of Major League Baseball. In addition, he holds the distinction of being the first catcher in the history of the league to amass more than 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. From May 8, 1999 to June 1, 1999, Rodríguez had a career high 20 game hitting streak. He had 25 stolen bases, which was fifth most among catchers in the history of the league. He led the league in times grounded into a double play, with 31. Rodríguez was only the ninth catcher in the history of Major League Baseball to win the Most Valuable Player award, and he was the first to win it since Thurman Munson in 1976. He was named on all of the ballots, getting seven first place votes and six second place votes. Rodríguez was the sixth Puerto Rico to win the award, and the fourth player from the Texas Rangers to win it. He also won the Silver Slugger Award for the sixth time in a row and was selected Most Valuable Player by Baseball Digest. He was again named to all-star teams by the Associated Press, The Sporting News, and Baseball America. While he was hitting home runs, he wasn’t taking many walks. He is one of only six players active in 2009 who have had at least 30 home runs in a season in which they had more homers than walks (34 HR, 24 BB in 1999). The others are Alfonso Soriano (39–23 in 2002, 36–33 in 2005, 33–31 in 2007), Garret Anderson (35–24 in 2000), Ryan Braun (34–29 in 2007), Joe Crede (30–28 in 2006), and Jose Guillen (31-24 in 2003).
In 2000, Rodríguez appeared in just 91 games, which was the fewest that he appeared in since his first season in the league, 1991. His nine home runs in April matched a team record that was shared (through 2008) with Alex Rodriguez (2002), Carl Everett (2003), and Ian Kinsler (2007). On July 24, Rodríguez suffered a season-ending injury in a game against the Anaheim Angels. While trying to make a throw to second base, his thumb made contact with the swing of Mo Vaughn’s bat. He fractured his right thumb and underwent surgery the next day. This injury caused him to miss the rest of the season. Even though he was injured, he was still named to the second-team of the Baseball America Major League Baseball All-Star Team. Rodríguez returned to full action in 2001 and had another all-star season. He was selected to his ninth straight MLB All-Star Game, which tied the all time record set by Johnny Bench. He also tied Bench’s record of ten straight Rawlings Gold Glove Awards in a row. He batted .308, making 2001 his seventh straight season with a batting average of over .300. He had 25 home runs, 136 hits, and 65 runs batted in. Rodríguez’s final year with the Texas Rangers came in 2002. His .314 batting average was seventh best among American League players. This was his eighth season in a row with batting average of .300 or above. He also had 32 doubles, 2 triples, and 60 runs batted in while playing in 108 games for the Rangers. Rodríguez was placed on the disabled list on April 23 after suffering a herniated disk on April 15. The injury did not require surgery, and he rehabilitated while playing for Class A Charlotte. He later returned to the Rangers and played there for the remainder of the season. After the 2002 season his contract with Texas ran out and he became a free agent.
Florida Marlins
Before the 2003 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 2003 World Series. Rodríguez’s played his first and only season with the Florida Marlins in 2003. Over the off-season, he was signed to a one year deal with the Marlins after his contract expired with the Texas Rangers (baseball), and he opted out of the contract for free agent. During the 2003 regular season, he set many Marlins single season records for a catcher, such as batting average, at .297, and runs batted in, at 85. On March 31, Rodríguez became the tenth Marlins player ever to hit a home run on the team’s first game of the season. On April 8, he set a Marlins single game record by drawing five walks in a game against the New York Mets. He had a nine game hitting streak from June 24 to July 2, during which he batted .500 with seven doubles, two triples, and four home runs. From June 24 to July 1, he drove in a run for eight consecutive games, another single season record for the Florida Marlins. In the post-season, he played with Marlins during their second World Series run and was named National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player for the first time in his career. He also closed out the National League Division Series by holding onto the ball during a dramatic game-ending collision at the plate with J.T. Snow in 2003 National League Division Series#Game_4.2C_October_4_2. He chose not to return to the Marlins the following the 2003 season.
Detroit Tigers
spring training game on March 11, 2007.]] Before the 2004 season Rodríguez signed 4-year, $40 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. In 2004, he was selected to the MLB All-Star Game for the 11th time in his career and for his 10th time as a starting player, joining Johnny Bench and Mike Piazza as the only Major League Baseball catchers to start an All-Star game 10 times or more in their career. He also won his 11th consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award, making him the first player on the Detroit Tigers to win the award since Gary Pettis won it in 1989. He won his seventh career Silver Slugger Award, tied with Víctor Martínez (baseball) of the Cleveland Indians. He was fourth in the American League in batting average and fourth among all Major League Baseball catchers. On October 1, he recorded his 1,000th career RBI in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Prior to the 2005 season, Jose Canseco, in his controversial book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, claimed to have personally injected Rodríguez with anabolic steroids during their time as teammates on the Texas Rangers (baseball). Rodríguez denied the allegations and said he was “in shock” over Canseco claims. Asked by a reporter four years later whether his name is on the list of 104 players who tested positive for steroids during baseball’s 2003 survey testing, Rodríguez responded, “Only God knows.”
Despite the off-season controversy, the 2005 season turned out to be another All-Star year for Rodríguez. He was selected to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game for the twelfth time in his career, and he participated in the Century 21 Home Run Derby on the day before the All-Star game. In the home run derby, he finished second to Bobby Abreu of the Philadelphia Phillies. By the end of the season, he batted .276 with 14 home runs and 50 runs batted in. On October 26, 2005, Major League Baseball named him the catcher on their Latino Legends Team.
In 2006, Rodríguez returned to throwing out runners attempting to steal a base at a very high percentage, as he did in his earlier career; he was first in the league in this category, throwing out 45.7 percent of all runners attempting to steal a base. 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. 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. He caught Justin Verlander’s no-hitter, the second no-hitter he’s caught in his career, on June 12 of that year. In 2007, Rodríguez walked only 1.8 percent of his plate appearances, the lowest percentage in the major leagues. On October 9, the Tigers announced that they were picking up the fifth-year, 13-million-dollar option on Rodríguez’s contract, keeping him on the Tigers team through at least the 2008 season. The team could have bought out the option for three million dollars and allowed him to become a free agent.
In spring training in 2008 he led the major leagues, with 8 home runs. He recently got his 2,500th hit. Manager Jim Leyland had said that he would rotate Rodríguez and Brandon Inge at catcher every other day.
New York Yankees
On July 30, 2008, Rodríguez was traded to the New York Yankees for relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth, after starting Yankee catcher Jorge Posada had season-ending surgery. While Rodríguez wanted to leave Detroit due to Tigers manager Jim Leyland’s decision to use rotating catchers, he wound up sharing catching duties with back-up Yankee catcher Jose Molina, starting in only 26 of the remaining 55 games of the 2008 season. With his customary number 7, which he wore throughout his career up to that point, having been retired by the Yankees for Mickey Mantle, Rodríguez changed his jersey number to 12. He didn’t do as well as expected for the Yankees, as he finished the year with a .278 batting average with his time on the Yankees being his worst part of the season.
Return to Puerto Rican League
In preparation for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Rodríguez returned to the Puerto Rico Baseball League (formerly LBPPR) during the offseason, following ten years of absence. Playing for the Criollos de Caguas, he gathered a batting average of .370 with three runs batted in and one home run in six games during the regular season. Upon leaving the team on vacation, Rodríguez noted that his intention was to return to action if the Criollos advanced to the playoffs. He returned to action in a “sudden death” game for the final postseason space, but the team lost and was eliminated. On January 8, 2008, the Leones de Ponce (baseball) reclaimed Rodríguez in the last turn of a special post-season draft, where players from eliminated teams were selected to reinforce those that qualified.
Houston Astros
On March 20, 2009, Rodríguez signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million with the Houston Astros. Rodríguez can make an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses. On May 17, 2009, Rodríguez hit his 300th career home run off of Chicago Cubs pitcher Rich Harden at Wrigley Field. Carl Michels, the fan who caught the home run ball, threw it back onto the field, a Wrigley Field tradition when an opposing player hits a home run. The home run gave the Astros a 4–2 lead and they would go on to win the game 6–5. Rodríguez is currently 5th on the all time home runs list by a catcher. In a situation similar to his tenure with the Yankees, his customary number 7 being retired by the Astros in honor of Craig Biggio, Rodríguez changed his jersey number to 14.
On June 17, 2009, Rodríguez passed Carlton Fisk for the most games caught in a career; the game was against his (then) former team (the Rangers) at his (then) former home ballpark (Rangers Ballpark in Arlington). Second stint with Rangers On August 18, 2009 Rodríguez was traded to the Texas Rangers (baseball) for minor league reliever Matt Nevarez and two Player to be named later. Teammate David Murphy switched his uniform number to #14 so Rodríguez could wear the #7 he previously wore with the Rangers. In his first game with the Rangers, Rodríguez had a good performance; he went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and two singles. He hit his first home run with the Rangers since 2002 on August 29, a solo shot against Minnesota Twins reliever José Mijares.
World Baseball Classic
Rodríguez represented Puerto Rico national baseball team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He was part of a team that was mostly consisted of Major League Baseball stars, among whom were Carlos Beltrán, Javier Vázquez, Bernie Williams and Carlos Delgado. Rodríguez was one of several Major League Baseball players that announced commitment to represent their birthplaces before the organization of the tournament. He also played for Puerto Rico in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and was named to the classic’s All-Tournament Team. This team featured MLB stars such as Geovany Soto, Felipe Lopez, Yadier Molina, and Alex Rios along with the players listed for the 2006 team.
Batting Leaders, AL (1995-2002) min. 2,000 AB
Nomar Garciaparra… .328
Edgar Martinez… .325
Bernie Williams… 321
Manny Ramirez… .321
Derek Jeter… .317
Ivan Rodriguez … .316
The Promise of 2004, The Discontent of 2005
Everything seemed to go right for Pudge Rodriguez in his first season with the Tigers. At the All-Star break, he was among league leaders in batting and the Tigers were a surpise success on the field. He cooled a bit in the second-half, but the Tigers imrpved their win total from 2003 by 29 games. The future looked promising.
But when Pudge arrived at spring training 30 pounds lighter, rumors swirled that he had gotten off the “juice.” When he started the season poorly and missed time due to nagging injuries, critics took aim. He gave them ample ammunition in August when he left the team for four days during a suspension and was late returning. After Alan Trammell refused to give Pudge permission to leave the team during his four-game suspension, Rodriguez went upstairs to owner Mike Ilitch and got approval. The rift between the two was born. When Pudge returned a day late, his teammates took notice. A closed door meeting left Pudge brooding. He was never the same after that meeting.
Later, as the Tigers racked up loss after loss in late August and early September, Pudge vented to the media.
“I hate losing, I’m tired of losing,” Rodriguez said in September, as the Tigers’ season spiraled out of control. “I’m not used to playing like this. I don’t like to play like this. I’ve been here two years and I don’t see any changes. It’s hard to be on a ballclub like that, because I’m not used to that.”
Feats
In 1996, Rodriguez set records for a catcher with his 47 doubles and 639 at-bats. His 116 runs scored tied Yogi Berra’s mark for backstops… In six of his first eight seasons (1992-1999), Rodriguez led AL catchers with the lowest stolen base percentage allowed. In 1997 he allowed just 37 stolen bases in 150 games behind the plate… On April 13, 1999, Rodriguez drove in nine runs in the first three innings against the Mariners. He hit a three-run blast in the first, a two-run single in the second, and a grand slam in the third frame… In 2006, Pudge became just the third catcher age 34 or older to bat .300, joining Al Todd (1937 Pirates) and Elston Howard (1964 Yanks@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@