Luis Orlando Rodríguez (born June 27, 1980), is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners 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 ...

. He is a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-han ...

and throws

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

Career

Minnesota Twins

Rodríguez made his major league debut with the

on May 21, . He was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to replace rookie Jason Bartlett, who won the starting job out of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, but began to have trouble at the plate. From -, Rodríguez was the primary

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

at Rochester, although he played a handful of games at

third base 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 ...

and shortstop in 2004. With excellent plate discipline, he hit .295 and .286 respectively, with a combined .354

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

. When Rodríguez got the call, he was hitting .278 with a .339 OBP in 33 games. In 79 games for the Twins, he hit .269 with 2 home runs and 20 runs batted in. In 2006, Rodríguez split time between Rochester and Minnesota, with the Twins, and he was .235 in 59 games. Inspired by the " Rory Fitzpatrick for NHL All-Star" Campaign, Rodriguez was the subject of a similar campaign known as "Vote for L-Rod" which aimed to elect him to the 2007 MLB All-Star game as the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

's starting 3rd baseman. For the 2007 season, Rodríguez hit .219 in 68 games.

San Diego Padres

Rodriguez was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres on October 4, . He made his Padres debut on July 5, after spending the first three months of 2008 with the PCL's

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

. In his first season with the Padres, Rodríguez hit a career high .287 in 64 games. The following season, Rodríguez set a career high in walks with 37 despite hitting a career low .202 for the Padres.

Cleveland Indians

On December 2, 2009, Rodriguez, signed a minor league contract 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

with an invite to Spring Training.

Chicago White Sox

On April 29, 2010, Rodriguez signed 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and was assigned to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

. Rodríguez spent the entire season in AAA.

Seattle Mariners

He became a free agent on November 2, 2011, after declaring free agency. On November 23, he re-signed a minor league contract with Seattle. He was also given an invitation to spring training.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Rodríguez spent the 2013 season in the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

organization, the Angels AAA minor league affiliate.

Bridgeport Bluefish

Rodriguez signed with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

for the 2015 season.

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Luis 1980 births Living people Bridgeport Bluefish players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Caribes de Oriente players Charlotte Knights players Everett AquaSox players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Lake Elsinore Storm players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Major League Baseball shortstops Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball coaches Navegantes del Magallanes players New Britain Rock Cats players People from Cojedes (state) Portland Beavers players Quad Cities River Bandits players Rochester Red Wings players Salt Lake Bees players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Tiburones de La Guaira players Tigres de Aragua players Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States