Hall of Fame case: Pudge Rodriguez will get in, but might have to wait
USA TODAY Sports is examining the most intriguing cases on baseball's 2017 Hall of Fame ballot ahead of the Jan. 18 election results
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Today: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.
A 21-year career highlighted by an MVP award, a World Series championship, a record 13 Gold Gloves and 14 All-Star Game invites should be more than enough to grant Ivan Rodriguez an immediate entry into Cooperstown as one of the best catchers ever.
Oh, if only it were that simple.
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Rodriguez was one of the players former teammate Jose Canseco accused of steroid use in his 2005 book Juiced, and circumstantial evidence like his substantial weight loss between the 2004 and ’05 seasons further incriminated Pudge, although no conclusive evidence ever materialized. Rodriguez is not known to have failed a drug test and was not named in the Mitchell Report.
The suspicions are about the only impediment for voters to grant Hall admission to the greatest player to have spent the majority of his career with the Texas Rangers.
The case for: Not only did Rodriguez play the most games at catcher (2,427) and produce the most hits (2,749 of his total of 2,844) of anybody at the position, but he excelled with the mitt and bat.
His collection of Gold Gloves – 10 of them attained in a row, the first one at age 20 – only tell part of the story of his defensive prowess. Rodriguez was a weapon behind the plate, with a quick release and powerful arm that nabbed would-be base stealers at a 46% career rate. Nine times he led the league in that category.
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Rodriguez also became a major offensive contributor by his third season, the first of 15 in a row in which he reached double figures in home runs. He finished with a career batting average of .296 that would rank sixth among Hall of Fame catchers, and a .798 OPS that would check in ninth, 25 points ahead of Gary Carter. Of Rodriguez’s 311 home runs, 304 came as a catcher, the third-highest total ever. In his AL MVP season of 1999, Rodriguez became the first catcher ever to combine 25 homers and 25 steals in a season.
After playing his first 12 seasons for the Rangers, Rodriguez became one of the driving forces behind the then-Florida Marlins’ march to a championship in 2003, and three years later he helped the Detroit Tigers reach their first World Series in more than two decades.
The case against: Other than the questions about whether he used performance-enhancing drugs, Rodriguez can be nitpicked for a reputed penchant for calling fastballs to aid in his efforts to catch base stealers, which irked the occasional pitcher. Offensively, he was never a particularly patient hitter, contributing to a so-so .334 on-base percentage despite 10 seasons with a batting average of .300 or better.
Lookalikes: Baseball-Reference’s Similarity Score puts Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk atop the list, with Carter and Yogi Berra farther down. Bill James’ Hall of Fame monitor leaves no doubt about Rodriguez’s worthiness for induction, with his 226 points soaring past the 130 standard for a virtual cinch. Rodriguez is a lock as well by Jay Jaffe’s JAWS system, with a score of 54 that ranks third all-time among catchers.
X-factors: Despite standing just 5-9, Rodriguez embraced the rigors of catching, starting at least 100 games – and twice 140 – in 16 of his 21 seasons. He also played some winter ball and represented Puerto Rico in the 2006 and ’09 World Baseball Classics. Voters tend to appreciate that love of the game.
The signature moment of Rodriguez’s career came in Game 4 of the Marlins’ 2003 Division Series against the San Francisco Giants, when he firmly clutched the ball while getting plowed by J.T. Snow in a fierce home-plate collision that resulted in the series-clinching out of an upset victory.
Consensus: Mike Piazza’s election last year is widely seen as opening the Hall doors to players dogged by suspicion of PED use but with little corroborating evidence. Rodriguez falls in that category, and his candidacy may be even stronger. But much like Piazza had to wait four years, Rodriguez may be put on hold before he inevitably gets invited in.
GALLERY: 2017 Hall of Fame ballot
