News
Pudge honored for catching record
Backstop recognized for setting career games mark
By Jason Grodsky / MLB.com
06/27/09 7:45 PM ET
HOUSTON -- Catcher Ivan Rodriguez was honored for becoming the all-time leader in games caught prior to Houston's game against the Detroit Tigers at Minute Maid Park on Saturday.
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Team owner Drayton McLane, team general manager Ed Wade and former All-Star catcher Bob Boone, who is now third on that list, presented Rodriguez with a framed shadowbox with a ball, photos and the home plate from his record-setting game on June 17. Rodriguez was also given his jersey from the game, which he plans to donate to the Hall of Fame.
Rodriguez set the record against the Texas Rangers, the same team he broke into the Majors with as a 19-year-old rookie on June 20, 1991, crouching behind the plate for the 2,227th time to surpass Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk. As of Saturday, his total games caught now stands at 2,283.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who managed Rodriguez from 2005-07 in Detroit, said he believes his former player will become the first catcher to join the 3,000-hit club.
"When you hear that from a manager like that, who has been in baseball for a long time, it's something special, and I have tremendous respect for him," said Rodriguez, who was given the day off on Saturday, but will be back in the lineup on Sunday for the Astros' series finale against Detroit.
Rodriguez already holds the record for most hits by a catcher, and he needs just 342 base hits to reach 3,000. When asked about the possibility of reaching the iconic No. 3,000, Rodriguez said he hopes to accomplish the feat playing for the Astros.
"It's a special thing in my career I would like to do," he said. "I've been very blessed to be getting a lot of awards and records and play this many games, but to be able to reach 3,000 hits as a catcher would show all the hard work. It's something that I have on my mind. It might take me a couple of years, but this would be a nice place to do, to be honest."
Jason Grodsky is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
