John Joseph Rodriguez (born January 20, 1978) is a retired Major League Baseball Player. He played in the Major Leagues for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

from 2005 to 2006.

Career

Rodriguez attended Brandeis High School. He signed as an undrafted free agent by the Yankees in 1996. Rodriguez played in the Yankees minor league system for eight seasons before signing with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in 2005. He was traded to the

later that year and forced a major league call-up to replace the injured

Reggie Sanders Reginald Laverne Sanders (born December 1, 1967) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, S ...

by hitting .342 with 17 home runs in 34 games with Triple-A the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. He performed well enough that the Cardinals signed him to a one-year contract following the season. On July 20, 2005, Rodriguez hit his first career

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 ...

off

Ben Sheets Ben Michael Sheets (born July 18, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. Sheets is a four-time MLB All-Star (2001, 2004, 200 ...

of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

John Rodriguez salutes the fans (281358303)

Rodriguez got more playing time for the Cardinals (183

at-bat 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 bat ...

s, 34 more than the year before) and was on the postseason roster, winning a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

when the Cardinals won the

2006 World Series The 2006 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2006 season. The 102nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Leag ...

. On November 30, , the Cardinals designated Rodriguez for assignment, removing him from the 40-man roster to make room for newly acquired

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

César Izturis César David Izturis (; born February 10, 1980) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. He is the half-brother of shortstop Maicer Izturis. Career Toronto Blue Jays Signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an amateur free agent in 1 ...

. Shortly thereafter the team released him. Rodriguez signed a minor league contract with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

on January 4, , but did not make the major league team out of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. On June 2, 2008, Rodriguez was released. On June 8, Rodriguez signed a minor league contract with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and was assigned to Triple-A

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. On January 6, , Rodriguez signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. After playing the entire season with the

Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

, he became a free agent. On May 7, 2010 signed with the Long Island Ducks. On March 2, 2011, he signed a contract with the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

.Atlantic League transactions
In May 2012, signed to play for the

Wichita Wingnuts The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball. An expansion franchise in the 2008 seas ...

in the American Association. Rodriguez played for the Wingnuts during the 2013 season as well. John is the Head of Baseball Operations and the Head Hitting Instructor at the Yorkville Baseball Academy where he preaches The Art of Hand Path to his students.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, John 1978 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from New York (state) Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Columbus Clippers players Diablos Rojos del México players Durham Bulls players Greensboro Bats players Gulf Coast Yankees players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball outfielders Memphis Redbirds players Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball outfielders New Orleans Zephyrs players Norwich Navigators players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players St. Louis Cardinals players Tampa Yankees players Wichita Wingnuts players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople