Carlos Rodríguez

Infielder Carlos Rodríguez Márquez may not have had a bat and glove in his mother’s womb, but he acquired those shortly after his birth on November 1, 1967.1 Born in Mexico City to distinguished Mexican baseball player Leo Rodríguez, Carlos could not recall a time when the game did not consume his thoughts. His mother, Beatriz Márquez, ran the family household, which included another baseball-playing brother, Leo Jr., and three sisters.

Carlos made it to the majors for 85 games with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox (1991; 1994-95). Previously, Leo Jr. had reached the Mexican leagues, just like their father. He was a shortstop for the Monterrey Industriales from 1974 through 1980. After a three-year hiatus from the game caused by shoulder problems, Carlos, too, played Mexican summer ball for four seasons (2000-03).

The elder Leo Rodríguez, inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980, is considered one of the country’s premier third basemen. He hit .315 and led the nation’s summer league in fielding in 10 out of his 13 seasons, interrupted by a five-year sojourn in the United States with the Pacific Coast League’s Hollywood Stars (1955, 1957) and the International League’s Columbus (Ohio) Jets (1958-1960). Both were Triple-A affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He later coached children and teenagers, including his two sons.2 Carlos credited “both dad and brother” for “inspiring and helping [him] become a better player since his early years.”3 The elder Leo Rodríguez died on August 16, 2011, at age 82,4 and Leo Jr. died on December 23, 2020, from COVID complications at age 65.5

Carlos loved “baseball since his first memories, always with a baseball, bat, or glove in hand.”6 He played second base and shortstop, occasionally pitching. Growing up in the 1970s, he followed Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine,” which included Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, César Gerónimo, and David Concepción.

Carlos played for school teams and eventually grew to 5-feet-9 inches and 160 pounds. Although he also defended third like his father, his build was better suited to the middle infield. He signed with the Mexico City Tigres (Tigers), but his contract was soon acquired by the New York Yankees at the urging of Tomás Morales, journalist with La Afición newspaper. As Rodríguez recalled, Morales “contacted the Yankees’ scout for Latin America, Fred Ferreira, to see me play.”7

In 1987, the Yankees assigned the 19-year-old to their affiliate in the Gulf Coast League (rookie ball). Rodríguez struggled at the plate in 50 games, as he only had 18 hits – all singles – in 115 at-bats. Nevertheless, “seeing the quality of players motivated me to work even harder,” he said. “Especially as I’d never hit with a wooden bat.”8 He credited manager Buck Showalter for his improvement in the Class A Florida State League, where Rodríguez demonstrated good plate discipline (72 walks with just 55 strikeouts) in 226 games in 1988 and 1989 with the Albany/Colonie Yankees of the Double-A Eastern League, he continued to improve his batting average (.252 in 1989 and .280 in 1990). Management promoted Rodríguez to Triple-A Columbus, where his keen batting eye (72 walks to 21 strikeouts in 432 total at-bats in 1990 and 1991) earned him a well-deserved shot in New York.

“I was playing in Triple-A and hitting well – either .300 or just below it – and we were playing in Norfolk against the Mets’ farm team (Tidewater).,” Rodriguez recalled. “After the game, the manager [Rick Down] told me to fly the next day to Arlington…my roommate was Bernie Williams and I knew he’d be called up shortly.”9

Rodríguez debuted in the majors on June 16, 1991, on a rainy Texas afternoon as the Yankees wrapped up a series against the Rangers. Given the weather, the teams canceled batting practice. Rodríguez did not know most of his new teammates other than Hensley Meulens, who’d played with him in 1989 and 1990. Rodríguez was inserted into the starting lineup against Nolan Ryan, two decades Rodríguez’s senior but still among the league leaders in WHIP and strikeouts. The Rangers won the 15-inning game and Rodríguez was hitless in four at-bats, though he did not strike out. Of the 19 pitches he saw, 14 were strikes and Rodríguez was retired on two fly balls, a ground ball, and foul pop-up before Alvaro Espinoza replaced him in the top of the 11th inning.

His first hit came two days later in Toronto, a leadoff single in the sixth inning against Bob McDonald. Rodriguez was stranded on first as the pitcher induced flyballs from the next three batters. Overall, he played in 15 games and recorded 39 plate appearances (37 at-bats) with a .189/.211/.189 slash line. His seven hits were all singles, though he enjoyed a four-game hitting streak. In the field, Rodriguez handled 47 chances at both middle infield positions and registered two errors, 34 assists, nine double plays, and 11 putouts in 88 defensive innings.

After his cup of coffee, the Yankees removed Rodriguez from the 40-man roster shortly after the season.10 The club opted to give better-regarded prospect Pat Kelly the starting second base job and shuffled Andy Stankiewicz, Mike Gallego, Randy Velarde, and Spike Owen at middle infield positions in 1992 and 1993 while Rodríguez languished in the minors. He remained productive with Albany/Colonie (.263.319/.336) in 112 games in 1992. He split 1993 between Albany/Colonie (.368 in 38 games) and Columbus (.253 in 57).

Although Rodriguez had displayed a good glove, a solid batting average, and an ability to draw walks, the Yankees did not-resign him when he became a free agent on October 15, 1993. Instead, he signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox on December 8. To maximize his chances of returning to the big leagues, he played with the Naranjeros (Orange Growers) of Hermosillo in Mexico’s winter league. The team won the national championship and represented Mexico in the 1994 Caribbean Series, where they dropped all six games. Rodriguez said the memorable experience was “very helpful, as upon my return to the major leagues, I felt confident both defensively and offensively.”11 However, the long season without rest strained his right shoulder – immediately after the Caribbean Series he reported to the Red Sox spring training camp.

Rodríguez began the 1994 season with Triple-A Pawtucket and provided a solid bat (.279 average) and contact (17 walks vs. 14 strikeouts) in 47 games as the club’s starting shortstop (.982 fielding percentage). In mid-May, Boston’s starting shortstop, John Valentin, injured his right knee. To improve their middle infield bench depth, the ballclub called up Rodríguez.12

Rodriguez started on May 7, 1994, against his former team in Yankee Stadium and connected for his sole major-league home run against Mélido Pérez. The fifth-inning blast tied the game, through New York eventually won, 6-5, on a Velarde sacrifice fly in the ninth inning. Rodríguez enjoyed his best career offensive game (5-for-5, three doubles) on August 7 against the Indians. Although the Red Sox won the game, 4-1, Rodríguez scored only once. He also drove in the winning run on May 28 against the Rangers, as his double scored Scott Cooper in the 10th inning of a 3-2 Sox victory.

Though his offensive output was modest (.287/.330/.397), his defensive skills were lauded: “He’s got a pair of the quickest hands I’ve ever seen. He’s got a strong arm and a very quick release, especially as middleman on the double play. He’s so quick that sometimes it looks as though the ball never hits his glove,” quipped first base coach Frank White, himself a defensive whiz in the 1970s and 1980s with the Kansas City Royals.13 Rodríguez hit .287/.330/.397 in 57 games and showed small-ball skill with seven sacrifice bunts.

Rodríguez has fond memories of his years with the Red Sox, especially “the very veteran 1994 team, a good team…marred by the strike. We had Roger Clemens, Andre Dawson, Mike Greenwell, and Mike Maddux. The Red Sox asked me if I wanted to continue playing down in Pawtucket, but my shoulder was hurting. I agreed to play in Triple A but asked the team doctors to evaluate me. They found tendinitis and recommended an anti-inflammatory treatment. I kept playing and we reached the postseason, but my shoulder hurt too much when I threw.”14

He underwent surgery during the offseason and resumed athletic activities in mid-1995. Rodriguez rehabilitated in Pawtucket (40 games) and the Gulf Coast League (13 games) to rebuild his arm strength before joining Boston during the pennant race. On October 1, he entered what proved to be his final game as a defensive replacement in the sixth inning and laced a single to left in his sole at-bat. He was left stranded as the Red Sox lost, 8-1, in the season finale. Cleveland swept Boston in the ALDS, but Rodríguez did not appear in the series.

Rodríguez was limited to 13 major-league regular season games that year, going 10-for-30 with the bat. This reflected the health and production of regulars Valentín (shortstop, 138 OPS+), Tim Naehring (third baseman, 123 OPS+), and Luis Alicea (second baseman, .367 OBP). In his short big-league career, Rodríguez hit .278 (67-for-241) with one home run, 20 runs batted in, 21 runs scored, and 14 walks.

Rodríguez returned to the Mexican winter league, but his shoulder still bothered him. A second surgery ended his season. Even so, Boston signed him to a minor-league contract in early February 1996 and invited him to spring training.15 As it developed, though, he took three years off from the sport (1996-1998), during which he underwent several other surgeries. Finally, Dr. Cuauhtémoc Reyes performed an acromioplasty, shoulder decompression surgery that removed some bone tissue.

After his shoulder finally healed enough to resume his career, Rodríguez played with the Nashua Pride of the independent Atlantic League in 1999. The circuit featured former big-leaguers Alex Cole, Mariano Duncan, José Lind, Meulens, Eric Yelding, David West, and Rubén Sierra, all still hoping to return to The Show. Rodríguez appeared in 24 of the team’s 119 contests and hit .184/.340/.211.

He returned to his homeland and played four years in the Triple-A Mexican League with the Reynosa Broncos (2000, 2001) and the Algodoneros (Cotton Pickers) of Unión Laguna (Torreón, 2002, 2003). His last two campaigns were remarkably consistent: 109 and 110 games played, averages of .323 and .321, and a pair of Gold Gloves as the circuit’s premier second baseman.

Rodríguez played in the 2003 Pan-American Games as the Mexican national team’s second baseman. The club surprised eventual gold-medal winner Cuba in the first round but fell to the United States in the semifinals. Although the team jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Huston Street pitched 8 2/3 shutout innings while the Americans scored three runs to win the contest. Future MVPs Justin Verlander and Dustin Pedroia also played for the United States, which fell to Cuba, 3-1, in the gold medal game while Mexico beat Nicaragua, 6-2, to win the bronze.

As of 2023, Rodríguez resided in the Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan area, where he operated The Strike Zone, a year-round indoor baseball and softball training facility. As was true of his father’s second career after active competition, Carlos “wanted to pursue his dream of teaching young boys and girls how to play the game that he knows and loves.”16 He has three adult children with his former wife.

Last revised: September 19, 2023

Acknowledgments

Thanks to SABR member Carlos Fragoso for connecting the author to Carlos Rodríguez.

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and David Bilmes and checked for accuracy by SABR’s fact-checking team.

Photo credit: Trading Card Database.

Sources

Unless otherwise stated, quotations in this article stem from the author’s personal phone interview with Carlos Rodríguez on August 12, 2023.

Information on the Mexican summer league was also obtained from Treto Cisneros, Pedro, ed., Enciclopedia del Béisbol Mexicano (Mexico City, Mexico: Revistas Deportivas, S.A. de C.V., 11th edition, 2011).

Notes

1 As customary in Latin America, Rodríguez (his father’s surname) and Márquez (his mother’s surname) are both part of his full name. However, Latin players often truncate the maternal portion when they play in North America.

2 Leo(nardo) Rodríguez, Class of 1980, Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame Web Page, https://en.salondelafamadelbeisbolmexicano.com/inmortales-80-82

3 Strike Zone of Central Ohio Web site, http://www.strikezoneofcentralohio.com/about_us

4 “Fallece Leo Rodríguez, inmortal del béisbol,” MilB, August 16, 2011, https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-23281850

5 “Leo Rodríguez, primera víctima de Covid en el beisbol mexicano,” ESPN.com, December 23, 2020 (https://espndeportes.espn.com/beisbol/nota/_/id/7951011/leo-rodriguez-primera-victima-covid-beisbol-mexicano).

6 Carlos Rodríguez, telephone interview with Tony Oliver,, August 12, 2023. (hereafter Rodríguez-Oliver interview).

7 Rodríguez-Oliver interview..

8 Rodríguez-Oliver interview..

9 Rodríguez-Oliver interview..

10 Jack O’Connell, “A.L. East, New York Yankees,” The Sporting News, October 28, 1991: 24

11 Rodríguez-Oliver interview..

12 Joe Giuliotti, “A.L. East, Boston Red Sox,” The Sporting News, May 16, 1994: 27

13 Joe Giuliotti, “A.L. East, Boston Red Sox,” The Sporting News, June 6, 1994: 28.

14 Rodríguez-Oliver interview.

15 Joe Giuliotti, “A.L. East, Boston Red Sox,” The Sporting News, February 5, 1996: 47.

16 Strike Zone of Central Ohio Web site.