John Rodriguez (baseball)
| John Rodríguez | |
|---|---|
| Wichita Wingnuts – No. 25 | |
| Outfielder | |
|
Born: January 20, 1978 New York City | |
| Batted: Left | Threw: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| July 18, 2005 for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 2006 for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .298 |
| Home runs | 7 |
| Runs batted in | 43 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
John Joseph Rodriguez (born January 20, 1978 in New York City, is a Major League Baseball outfielder with the independent Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He is generally known more for his hitting than his fielding.
Rodriguez attended Brandeis High School. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 16th Round (425th overall) of the 1995 MLB Draft but did not sign. He signed as an undrafted free agent by the Yankees in 1996. Rodriguez played in the Yankees minor league system for eight seasons before signing with the Cleveland Indians in 2005. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals later that year and forced a major league call-up to replace the injured Reggie Sanders by hitting .342 with 17 home runs in 34 games with Triple-A the Memphis Redbirds. He performed well enough that the Cardinals signed him to a one-year contract following the season. On July 20, 2005, Rodriguez hit his first career home run off Ben Sheets of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Rodriguez got more playing time for the 2006 Cardinals (183 at-bats, 34 more than the year before) and was on the postseason roster, winning a World Series ring when the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series. Rodriguez was hitless in his only World Series at-bat.
Rodriguez was given the nickname "J-Rod" when he first came to the Cardinals, as his hitting prowess at the time was akin to "A-Rod" (Alex Rodriguez). Rodriguez has stated he is not a big fan of this nickname.
On November 30, 2007, the Cardinals designated Rodriguez for assignment, removing him from the 40-man roster to make room for newly acquired shortstop, César Izturis.[1] Shortly thereafter the team released him.[2]
Rodriguez signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on January 4, 2008, but did not make the major league team out of spring training. On June 2, 2008, Rodriguez was released. On June 8, Rodriguez signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets and was assigned to Triple-A New Orleans.
On January 6, 2009, Rodriguez signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. After playing the entire season with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees, he became a free agent. On May 7, 2010 signed with the Long Island Ducks, and also played part of 2010 with Veracruz. On March 2, 2011, he signed a contract with the Long Island Ducks.[3] In May 2012, signed to play for the Wichita Wingnuts in the American Association.
References
- ↑ Strauss, Joe. "Izturis deal nudges out Eckstein." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2007-12-01. Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
- ↑ Strauss, Joe. "LaRussa: Now, it's personal." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2007-12-06. Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
- ↑ Atlantic League transactions
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
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