News
Pudge reaches milestone behind the plate
Tied at No. 2 with Boone all-time for games caught, with 2,225
By Tom Singer / MLB.com
06/14/09 8:52 PM ET
PHOENIX -- Ivan Rodriguez ran on the field for the bottom of the fifth here on Sunday, and to the verge of history. As soon as the Astros' game against the D-backs -- an 8-3 win -- became official, so did Rodriguez's 2,225th career game behind the plate, tying him with Bob Boone for second place on the all-time list of games caught. It will be a short chase for No. 1: Rodriguez is now within one of Carlton Fisk's record of 2,226, a record he will tie and break during Houston's upcoming Interleague series in Arlington against the Rangers. "To be able to do what Bob Boone and Carlton Fisk did, play that many games, to get to that level is a great accomplishment, I think," Rodriguez said prior to the game. "The reason for that is just the preparation I've done every single year. I've done everything physically and mentally to be able to play the whole season every year." Midway through his 19th Major League season, the 37-year-old Rodriguez caught up to Boone, who was 42 when he caught his final game in 1990 for the Kansas City Royals -- setting the record that Fisk, at 45 and at the end of his 24th season, would break in 1993. Houston manager Cecil Cooper, a playing peer of both Boone and Fisk, said that Rodriguez shares one unmistakable trait with them. "Conditioning was a big part of what Fisk and Boonie did," Cooper said. "They put in the hard work. And Pudge is in the same mode. That's what has allowed him to stay around as long as he has." The way he will tie the record and set a new one will also be in the style of Fisk. Cooper has carefully scripted the scenario. He said that Rodriguez "would get in Tuesday's game at some point," suggesting that Humberto Quintero would start and then give way to Pudge and the attendant fanfare. Rodriguez then would start the record-breaker on Wednesday. The Chicago White Sox set the precedent for orchestration in 1993 with Fisk -- who neared the record against Boone's old club, the Angels, in Anaheim, then was brought home to Comiskey Park for the record-tying and -breaking games against the Rangers -- and their young catching star, Ivan Rodriguez. Interestingly, Pudge has no memories of that event. So if you were hoping for a sugary anecdote -- "Oh, sure, I remember watching that and thinking, 'One day, old man, I'll have our record' " -- forget it. At the time, Rodriguez was an introverted 21-year-old with limited knowledge of the language. Incidentally, the record-breaking game of June 22, 1993, was the last game of Fisk's Hall of Fame career. And that is where he and Rodriguez will dramatically diverge. "Trust me," Rodriguez said. "I still have a lot of games left. There's still a lot of baseball in me. I've taken care of myself, and I will continue to take care of myself."Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
