Héctor Antonio Rodríguez Ordeñana (June 13, 1920 – September 1, 2003) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for one season () with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. His natural position was shortstop, but he had the misfortune to be with the White Sox while Chico Carrasquel played the position, followed by all-time great

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League (AL) teams, m ...

. A native of

Alquízar Alquízar () is a town and municipality in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. History The settlement was first mentioned in 1616, as a coffee plantation owned by ''Don Sancho de Alquízar'', who gives the name of the community. In 1826, a garrison ...

, Cuba, Rodríguez played in the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

with the

New York Cubans The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics in ...

, 1939 and 1944, and in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, 1945–46 (Riley, 676) prior to the integration of organized baseball, Before the 1951 season, Rodríguez was acquired by the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

from the Tuneros de San Luis Potosí of the

. He was assigned to Brooklyn's farm club, the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

, where he batted .302. On December 6 of that same year he was traded by the Dodgers to the

for

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Rocky Nelson Glenn Richard "Rocky" Nelson (November 18, 1924 – October 31, 2006) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for all or parts of nine seasons between and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pi ...

. Rodríguez was Chicago's regular third baseman during the 1952 season. He appeared in 124 games for the 81–73 White Sox and hit .265 with 1

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 40

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. He drew 47 walks and was

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

es 3 times, raising his

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

to .346. He stole 7 bases, scored 55 runs, and

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

just 22 times in 407

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, making him the seventh-toughest to strike out in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. (once per every 18.5 at bats) Defensively, his .959

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

was just above the league average for third basemen. Rodríguez went back to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

in 1953, and on October 8 of that year was traded to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Em ...

. While Rodríguez never again made it back to the big league level, he had an outstanding career with the Toronto Maple Leafs when they were the top-drawing team in the International League during the 1950s. He teamed with second baseman Mike Goliat to turn spectacular double plays. Rodríguez was so good at the position, the White Sox sent a film crew to Toronto to record his skill at turning double plays to be used in training their minor league shortstops. He was renowned for his underhand flip throws from deep in the hole between shortstop and third base, a throw not seen in Toronto until Tony Fernandez played shortstop for the American League Toronto Blue Jays in the 1990s. Rodríguez died at the age of 83 in

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

References

*Riley, James A. (2002). ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues.'' 2nd edition. New York: Carroll & Graf Publ. .

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Hector 1920 births 2003 deaths People from Artemisa Province Alijadores de Tampico players Azules de Veracruz players Chicago White Sox players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Canada Diablos Rojos del México players Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball players Minor league baseball managers Montreal Royals players New York Cubans players Piratas de Campeche players Plataneros de Tabasco players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Tuneros de San Luis Potosí players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico