Roberto Muñoz Rodríguez (February 5, 1941 – September 24, 2012) was a Venezuelan 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. 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 Kansas City / Oakland Athletics,

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

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. He played in the United States under the name of Roberto Rodriguez. Born in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, Rodríguez carried a varied repertoire that relied on intelligence over raw explosiveness. He had a variable-speed

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

(reaching 90 MPH), a slider, a tough

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

, and a circle change-up as his most effective offering. Once considered one of the best prospects in the

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

minor league 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 Nort ...

system, he also pitched for the

and

organizations. Rodríguez was signed by the Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1963, spending seven minor league seasons from 1964–1970. He posted a 42–28 record and a 3.15

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 124 pitching appearances before being promoted to the big team in May 1967. He returned to the minors in early June and was recalled two months later. He went 1–1 with a 3.57 ERA and two saves in 15 games (five starts). On August 27, he earned his first and only major league victory against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, 2–1, allowing four hits to a powerful lineup that included Norm Cash, Bill Freehan,

Al Kaline Albert William Kaline ( ; December 19, 1934 – April 6, 2020), nicknamed "Mr. Tiger", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers. For most of his career, Kali ...

, Dick McAuliffe,

Eddie Mathews Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons for the Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (19 ...

and Jim Northrup.Retrosheet.org – Kansas City Athletics 2, Detroit Tigers 1. Game Played on Sunday, August 27, 1967 (D) at Municipal Stadium
/ref> After that, Rodríguez would remain in the organization after the team was renamed the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in 1968. He returned to the majors in 1970, pitching for the Athletics, Padres and Cubs in the same season. He later played three Triple-A seasons with the Tacoma Cubs and the

Wichita Aeros The Wichita Aeros were an American minor league baseball franchise based in Wichita, Kansas, that played in the Triple-A American Association from 1970 through 1984. The Aeros were established as an expansion franchise when the Association grew ...

from 1971 through 1974. In a three-season career, he compiled a 4–3 record with a 4.81 ERA and seven saves in 57 games. Over the course of his 11-year minor league career from 1964–1974, he went 61–43 with a 3.60 ERA in 904 games. In addition, Rodríguez played in the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

during 17 seasons (1961–62/1978–79). ″Pluto″, as his teammates nicknamed him, went 64–49 with a 3.04 ERA and 59 saves in 168 games (97 starts), to become the first pitcher in VPBL history to top both 50 wins and 50 saves.Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela The mark was later matched by Luis Aponte (1973–74/1996–97) and Giovanni Carrara (1990–91/2009–10). After retiring he worked as a pitching coach in his Venezuelan homeland. He also served as an instructor in the baseball academy operated by

Carlos Guillén Carlos Alfonso Guillén (born September 30, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers. Guillén was signed by the Houston Astros as a non-draft a ...

Maracay Maracay () is a city in north-central Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast, and is the capital and most important city of the state of Aragua. Most of it falls under the jurisdiction of Girardot Municipality. The population of Maracay and its ...

. In 2011, he gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame. Rodríguez died in Maracay in 2012, at the age of 71, after suffering a

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Roberto 1941 births 2012 deaths Burlington Bees players Cardenales de Lara players Chicago Cubs players Daytona Beach Islanders players Industriales de Valencia players Iowa Oaks players Kansas City Athletics players Lewiston Broncs players Leones del Caracas players Llaneros de Acarigua players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Navegantes del Magallanes players Oakland Athletics players Baseball players from Caracas Baseball players from Maracay San Diego Padres players Tacoma Cubs players Tigres de Aragua players Vancouver Mounties players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Wichita Aeros players 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen

See also

References

External links