Rodney Bernard Pedraza (born December 28, 1969) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He played for the

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

from 1999 to 2002 and

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

in 2003. He was an All- Star four out of his five seasons in Japan. Prior to his career in Japan, he played Minor League Baseball in the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

, Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers organization from 1991 to 1998.

Draft

Pedraza was drafted to in the 35th round to the Chicago Cubs in the 1988 amateur draft right out of high school. He instead spent 3 years at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

(including a 5-0 record the year they finished second at the 1989 College World Series), and had gone 13-3 with a 3.33 ERA in college. In the 1991 amateur draft he was drafted by the

. He made his debut with the Jamestown Expos and Sumter Flyers in 1991. In 1992, he had gone 13-8, 3.26 record for the Albany Polecats. He led the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

with 186 hits allowed, and he fell one short of the win lead. In 1993 he played for San Bernardino Spirit, and went 9-7 with a 3.18 ERA. He was second in the California League in ERA. He then played for the Colorado Rockies. In the Rockies chain, he debuted with the

New Haven Ravens New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and Colorado Springs Sky Socks in 1994. He was 7th in the Eastern League in ERA and was chosen for the Eastern League All-Star team. In addition, he was rated for best control in the Eastern League by Baseball America. Rodney missed all of 1995 due to a shoulder injury, but returned in 1996 and did well with

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

. He finished 3rd in the Eastern League in ERA. In 1997 Pedraza played for 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 Norther ...

. Then, in 1998 he signed with the Texas Rangers. He split the year with the

Charlotte Rangers The Charlotte Rangers, based in Port Charlotte, Florida, were an American minor league baseball team that existed from 1987 through 2002. The team played at Charlotte County Stadium as a Class A Florida State League affiliate of the Texas Rang ...

and the Tulsa Drillers.

Japan

Rodney signed with the

in 1999. He debuted in Japan by going 3-1 with 27 saves and a 1.98 ERA. He finished second in the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...

in saves, and he mad the

All-Star team. In the

1999 Japan Series The 1999 Japan Series was the 50th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason championship series. It matched the champion teams of the Pacific and Central Leagues. The Fukuoka Daiei Hawks represented the Pacific League, while the Chun ...

, Pedraza saved games 4 and 5, and pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings in the Series, allowing one hit and no walks. In 2000, he went 3-4 with 35 saves and a 2.15 ERA. He also had a WHIP of .77 with 4 walks and 35 hits in 50 1/3 IP. He was again picked for the

All-Star team, and he led the

in saves. He tied

Eddie Gaillard Julian Edward Gaillard (born August 13, 1970) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball, playing for the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays between 1997 and 1999. He also played in the Japanese Central League, posting a total of 120 save ...

for the most saves in all of

Nippon Pro Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. In addition, he also tied Otsuka's

save record (which was later broken by

Kiyoshi Toyoda Kiyoshi Toyoda (豊田清, born February 2, 1971) is a Japanese professional baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the co ...

). Pedraza became the second American to be named Fireman of the Year in the

. In the 2000 Japan Series, he saved game one and threw two shutout innings. In 2001 he was once again an All-Star and he led the Pacific League in saves and points. For the second year in a row, Pedraza was awarded the Fireman of the Year. He was the second repeat foreign winner in

history and the first in the

. In 2002 Pedraza remained the closer for the

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily ...

, and he made the All-Star team for the 4th time. He became the first American to save 100 games in

. In 2003 he was signed to the

, and his performance suffered due to another shoulder injury.

Career Stats

Overall, Rodney went 16-12 with 117 saves and a 2.99 ERA in 194 games in

and 65-40 with a 3.82 ERA in 159 minor league games. Through 2009, he was 19th in

annals in saves and 3rd among foreign-born hurlers.

Retirement

After the end of his playing career, he moved back to Cuero, Texas. On March 2, 2007 he was inducted into the Latinos in Action hall of fame. He was a member of the Cuero Gobblers' 1987 state championship football team, and was inducted into the Cuero Gobbler hall of fame in 2009. In 2008, he married Deborah, and they have three daughters Lauren, Kendall, Mia.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedraza, Rod 1969 births Living people Baseball players from San Antonio Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers American expatriate baseball players in Japan Fukuoka Daiei Hawks players Yomiuri Giants players Texas Longhorns baseball players Jamestown Expos players Sumter Flyers players Albany Polecats players San Bernardino Spirit players New Haven Ravens players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Winnipeg Goldeyes players Charlotte Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players People from Cuero, Texas