Rodolfo M. Árias (born June 25, 1957) is a Cuban former minor league baseball

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and former

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), ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He served as the

bullpen catcher The bullpen catcher is a member of a baseball team's staff, often a former professional player, who catches the ball for relief pitchers warming up before entering a game and starting pitchers before games. A bullpen catcher differentiates from a ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. He has also served in this capacity for the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

and

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 ...

. His father is Rudy Árias.

Biography

Born in

Santa Clara, Cuba Santa Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara Province, Villa Clara. It is centrally located in the province and Cuba. Santa Clara is the List of cities in Cuba, fifth-most populous Cuban city, with a population of nearly ...

, Árias attended

Miami Senior High School Miami Senior High School, also known as Miami High School, is a public high school located at 2450 SW 1st Street in Miami, Florida, and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Founded in 1903, it is one of the oldest high school in Miami- ...

. He played minor league baseball for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

organization. Árias played for the

Bellingham Mariners The Bellingham Mariners were a Minor League Baseball team in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, based in Bellingham, Washington. The club served as the Seattle Mariners' short-season affiliate from 1977 to 1994. History Major League B ...

of the Rookie-level

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

in 1977, where he was named the league's defensive player of the month for July, and was named to the All-Star team. However, he had a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of only .225. Árias played for the Stockton Mariners of the Class A

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

in 1978. After a strong start, Árias missed time due to a broken jaw suffered when he was hit in the face with a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

. In 1979, he played for the

Alexandria Mariners The Alexandria Mariners were a minor league baseball located in Alexandria, Virginia. The Mariners were members of the Carolina League for a single season in 1979. The team was an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. History The Alexandria franch ...

of the Class A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, the

San Jose Missions The San Jose Missions were a Minor League Baseball, minor league baseball team located in San Jose, California. The Missions played from 1977 to 1978 as members of the Triple-A (baseball), AAA Pacific Coast League. The Missions name returned in 19 ...

, and

Santa Clara Padres The Santa Clara Padres were a Minor League Baseball team in the Class A-Short Season California League, based in Santa Clara, California. The franchise played a single season as an independent club before moving north to become the Redwood Pion ...

, both in the California League. He retired as a player following the season. Árias served as the

for the

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in the mid-1990s and the

of 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 ...

(AL), serving with the team during the

1996 World Series The 1996 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1996 season. The 92nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion (and defending World Series champion ...

championship. Árias was a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Nation ...

for the Yankees during the

1994–95 Major League Baseball strike The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike was the eighth and longest work stoppage in baseball history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 22 years. The strike began on August 12, 1994, and resulted in the remainder of that season ...

. Árias then worked for the

of the AL as their bullpen catcher from 1997 through 2007. He coached the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Northern ...

, then of the Northern League from 2008 through 2010. He left the Goldeyes to return to the Orioles as their bullpen catcher in 2011. He served as the Orioles' bullpen catcher through the 2015 season. He was inducted into the

Hall of Fame in April 2012.

Personal

His family fled Cuba in 1962. His father is Rudy Árias, who pitched for 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 son, Alex Árias, played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

. Arias became a citizen of the United States in March 2012.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arias, Rudy 1957 births Living people Sports coaches from Miami Baseball players from Miami Baseball catchers Bellingham Mariners players Cuban emigrants to the United States Stockton Mariners players Alexandria Mariners players San Jose Missions players Santa Clara Padres players Baltimore Orioles coaches Florida Marlins coaches New York Yankees coaches Major League Baseball bullpen catchers Major League Baseball replacement players Miami Dade Sharks baseball players Sportspeople from Santa Clara, Cuba Naturalized citizens of the United States Miami Senior High School alumni