Ivan Rodriguez Retires in Texas

Ivan Rodríguez, a 14-time All Star catcher, ended a 21-season playing career doing what he does best from behind home plate.
Pudge made one last throw  to second base at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
The Rangers then honored him with a pregame ceremony that ended with the unique first pitch. Rodríguez initially went to the mound while Michael Young, the team's longest-tenured player, set up to receive the pitch. But that didn't seem right, so Young ran out to second base and Rodríguez, already wearing a catcher's mitt, went behind the plate to a huge cheer and made a familiar throw across the diamond.

After 21 years in Major League Baseball with six teams, catcher Ivan Rodriguez formally retired on Monday, returning to his original big league team in Texas to say goodbye after 14 All-Star games and 13 Gold Glove awards.
Rodriguez, who played a record 2,427 games behind the plate, said farewell at a news conference at the Ballpark in Arlington before the Texas Rangers' game against the Yankees on Monday.

Rodríguez was surrounded at the podium by his wife and his three children, including his 19-year-old son who is a prospect in the Minnesota Twins organization. He thanked his parents and brother who sat in the front row for supporting him since he started playing baseball at age 5 in Puerto Rico.
Rodríguez plans to remain in baseball in some capacity, and Rangers president Nolan Ryan said there have already been some preliminary discussions about making that happen. 

Rodriguez is considered one of the best all-around catchers ever, thriving as a potent offensive player while garnering a record 13 Gold Glove awards for fielding.
He was named the 1999 American League Most Valuable Player after a season with 35 home runs, 113 runs batted in, 25 steals and a .332 batting average, and finished with a career batting average of .296 and 2,844 hits.
The strong-armed backstop threw out 41.7 percent of attempted basestealers, the best career figure since the statistic started being kept in 1974.

Rodríguez was only 16 years old when the Rangers signed him after a tryout camp in Puerto Rico in July 1988. Less than three years later, he was in the major leagues.
Rodríguez was quickly among the team's top prospects. He was the youngest player in the Texas League when the Rangers brought him up after getting constant reports that he made contact and was ready to catch in the big leagues.