Ranking the Catchers With a commanding presence behind the plate and a rocket arm, Johnny Bench was the best defensive catcher in history. But that wasn’t all. The powerful right-handed slugger won a pair of Most Valuable Player awards and led the Reds to six division titles, four pennants, and two championships. He hit…
August 14, 2020, here is your short walk through baseball history! Debuts, Milestones, No Hitters, Rule Changes, Events, Birthdays, Deaths, and more on August 14 This Day In Baseball. Click on the links to read more about these events . . . . Bob Gibson fires his first No hitter and the first in Pittsburgh in…
Iván Rodríguez Position: CatcherBats: Right • Throws: Right5-9, 205lb (175cm, 92kg)Born: November 27, 1971 in Manati, Puerto RicoHigh 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 SBLast Game: September 28, 2011 vs. FLA 3 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SBHall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 2017. (Voted…
The 2017 class of the Hall of Fame is inducted in Cooperstown, NY. Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez are the three players honored, while executives Bud Selig and John Schuerholz were voted in by the Veterans Committee. The presence of a large number of fans wearing the gear of the defunct Montréal Expos in honor of Raines cannot be missed among the crowd of 27,000 present for the ceremonies.
2017 – First baseman Jeff Bagwell is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with 86.2% of the vote, along with catcher Ivan Rodriguez, who played briefly with the Astros, and outfielder Tim Raines. It was Bagwell’s seventh year on the ballot.
Josh Hamilton joins Jeff Burroughs (1974), Juan Gonzalez (1996, 1998), Ivan Rodriguez (1999), and Alex Rodriguez (2003) as the fifth Ranger player to win the American League’s Most Valuable Player award. The Texas slugging outfielder, who received 22 of the 28 first-place votes cast by the writers, led the major leagues in batting with a .359 average, hitting 32 homers and driving in 100 runs despite missing 29 games in September after suffering two broken ribs.
Ivan Rodriguez catches the 2,227th game of his career, breaking Carlton Fisk’s record, in Houston’s 5 – 4, 10-inning loss to his former team, the Texas Rangers. For Texas, Omar Vizquel, the all-time leader for games played at shortstop, picks up his 2,677th hit, tying Luis Aparicio for most hits by a Venezuelan player.
2009 – Ivan Rodriguez belts the 300th homer of his career in a 6-5 victory at Chicago. Wrigley fans toss back the momento, much to the catcher’s delight. Chris Sampson picks up his first career save but does so only after allowing two runs in the ninth and needing Jeff Keppinger to catch a screaming liner with two men on for the final out. Sampson was pressed into service after three Houston relievers had been sent to the Disabled List and a fourth was dinged up the day before.
2009 – After winning their first spring game of the year, the Astros fail to win their next 19 Grapefruit League contests until beating the Reds, 4-2, behind six shutout innings from Russ Ortiz. It comes the same day that the Astros sign catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez to a one-year deal. The 37-year-old Rodriguez is a 14-time All-Star with 13 Gold Gloves and fills a need as none of the other catchers in camp were hitting above .200 in spring action.
Jose Canseco’s controversial book, Juiced, is made available in selected markets in anticipation of his appearance on CBS’s Sixty Minutes. The self-proclaimed godfather of the steroids in baseball alleges Mark McGwire, Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro, and Ivan Rodriguez all used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.