Eduardo Rodríguez (right-handed pitcher)

Eduardo Rodríguez Reyes [Volanta] (March 6, 1952 – March 6, 2009) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 1973 through 1979 for the Milwaukee Brewers (1973–78) and Kansas City Royals (1979), mostly as a relief pitcher. Listed at 6' 0", 185 lb., Rodríguez batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico.

In a seven-season career, Rodríguez posted a 42–36 record with a 3.89 ERA and 32 saves in 264 appearances, including 39 starts, one shutout and seven complete games, giving up 317 earned runs on 681 hits and 323 walks while striking out 430 in 734 innings of work.

Rodríguez died at his Barceloneta home of a heart attack on his 57th birthday.^[1]

Facts

• As a hitter, Rodríguez belted a triple in his first and only plate appearance (1973), joining Scott Munninghoff (1980) and Eric Cammack (2000) as the only players to accomplish this feat in major league history.
• Up 10-1 in the 8th inning of a game played on September 3, 1973, the Milwaukee Brewers elected to send DH Bobby Mitchell into left field, thereby forfeiting their right to use a DH. Relief pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez accordingly came to bat in the ninth—and hit an RBI triple, sealing the Brewers' 13-5 win over Cleveland.^[2]
• He also pitched in the Puerto Rico Baseball League for the Criollos de Caguas and Indios de Mayagüez.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)