Returning to Texas, Ivan Rodriguez will officially retire leaving behind a legacy of Gold Gloves, a 1999 AL MVP and a World Series Ring with the Marlins.
Known as "Pudge", Ivan Rodriguez concludes his career with lifetime numbers that are Hall of Fame worthy. With 2,844 Hits, 311 Home Runs and 7 Silver Slugger Awards, Rodriguez ranks among the top offensive Catchers in Major League history.
Defensively, I-Rod had no peers. His Defensive WAR of 16.9 ranks eleventh all time and is the highest among Catchers. He also boasts 13 Gold Gloves which again is a record for that position. All signs point him towards Cooperstown.....that is with the exception of the elephant that haunts his era.
Although never officially tagged as a steroids user, Rodriguez was named by Jose Canseco in his book as a partaker of PEDs. He subsequently never denied his name being on the Mitchell Report giving an answer of "Only God knows" which is hardly a denial.
Ivan Rodriguez will be eligible in five years and his induction could very well depend on how he is linked with steroids, as based on vote tallies for Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro have shown that direct association with PEDs equals Hall of Fame exclusion.
Thoughts?
Ivan Rodriguez retires today
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