The first player to represent the Royals in the All-Star game, catcher Ellie Rodriguez, passed away last week at the age of 79.
Rodríguez was born Eliseo Rodríguez Delgado, May 24th, 1946, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. His family moved to New York City in 1953, settling just 10 blocks from Yankee Stadium, where young Ellie and his brother would often go. His first major league idol was Yogi Berra, a player that inspired Rodriguez to become a catcher.
Before he committed himself to baseball, Rodriguez trained
as a boxer and participated in Golden Gloves tournaments. He gave up boxing after suffering a broken finger.
He caught the eye of a Kansas City Athletics scout during a high school tournament and signed with the Athletics shortly after graduation.
He hit well enough in the Athletics minor league system to interest the Yankees, who selected him in the First Year Player draft. From 1965 to 1968, he made a steady climb through the Yankee system before getting his first call up.
He made his major league debut on May 26th, 1968, against the Chicago White Sox in a game at Yankee Stadium which for a New York kid had to be a dream come true.
His locker was next to Mickey Mantle, and Mantle and Bobby Mercer helped Rodriguez secure enough tickets to accommodate the 30 family members on hand to witness the occasion. Classy move by the veterans.
Rodriguez went hitless in three at bats that day but did pick up his first career hit in his next game with an 8th inning single off Mickey Lolich in Tiger Stadium. Lolich was one of the best pitchers in baseball in those days, but Rodriguez seemed to have his number, tagging the hard throwing lefty for three of his 16 career home runs.
The expansion Royals selected Rodriguez with the 13th pick in the expansion draft, and he immediately became their starter.
Rodriguez was superb in the first half of the 1969 season, hitting a solid .260. That earned him a berth on the American League All-Star team, though he didn’t see action in the game.
Rodriguez slumped in the second half of the season which opened the door for Ed Kirkpatrick.
Rodriguez and Kirkpatrick platooned for most of the 1970 season, Ellie being the superior defensive catcher while Spanky was a better hitter.
Rodriguez best days as a Royal came during an early June series at Yankee Stadium. Playing against his former teammates and in front of a large contingent of family and friends, Rodriguez went 5 for 13 with a three-run home run in the series opener, helping the young Royals win two of three. He also threw out two would be base stealers.
With Kirkpatrick and Buck Martinez emerging as their primary catchers, the Royals traded Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1970 season. While in Milwaukee, he developed a friendship with and helped mentor another young catcher named Darrell Porter. He spent three productive seasons in Milwaukee, often battling injuries. He made his second All-Star team in 1972 but again didn’t see any playing time in the game.
With Porter ready to assume the catching duties, Milwaukee sent Rodriguez to the California Angels, where he spent two seasons and became Nolan Ryans favorite catcher. Rodriguez caught Ryan’s 4th career no-hitter and had arguably his best season as a player in 1974 when he appeared in a career high 140 games, hitting .253 with career highs in home runs and RBIs. He later appeared in 36 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1976.
He spent the entire 1977 season with the Pirates AAA affiliate in Columbus before closing his career with four seasons in the Mexican League.
Rodriguez will be remembered for two things in particular. The first was his long running dispute with Bill “Spaceman” Lee, a feud which ended in fisticuffs on two different occasions. The duo first fought in a Puerto Rican winter league game in 1970, in which Lee lost four teeth, and more famously in a May 1973 game at Fenway Park.
The second was the fact that Rodriguez was an excellent defensive catcher. He had terrific footwork behind the plate, often attributed to his time as a boxer. He was one of the first catchers I recall that caught with his body at a slight angle, his left shoulder closer to the pitcher, so he could use that leverage on his throws. He was also one of the first I remember seeing that held his right hand behind his body when catching to protect his throwing hand from foul tips.
After his time in the majors ended, Rodriguez stayed in baseball. He did some coaching in the Mexican Leagues and held various jobs in the sport up until 2018.
He passed away April 23rd at the age of 79. All of us at Royals Review extend our condolences to the Rodriguez family.
