Héctor Rodríguez (third baseman)
| Héctor Rodríguez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: June 13, 1920 Alquízar, Cuba | |
| Died: September 1, 2003 (aged 83) Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Professional debut | |
| NgL: 1944, for the New York Cubans | |
| MLB: April 15, 1952, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 16, 1952, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .269 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 52 |
| Stolen bases | 13 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Member of the Caribbean | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1998 |
Héctor Antonio Rodríguez Ordeñana (June 13, 1920 – September 1, 2003) was a Cuban Major League Baseball third baseman for one season (1952) with the Chicago White Sox.
A native of Alquízar, Cuba, Rodríguez played in the Negro leagues with the New York Cubans in 1939 and 1944, and in the Mexican League, in 1945–1946 prior to the integration of organized baseball.
Professional career
[edit]Before the 1951 season, Rodríguez was acquired by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Tuneros de San Luis Potosí of the Mexican League. He was assigned to Brooklyn's farm club, the Montreal Royals, where he batted .302. On December 6 of that same year he was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox for first baseman Rocky Nelson.
Rodríguez was Chicago's regular third baseman during the 1952 season. He appeared in 124 games for the 81–73 White Sox and hit .265 with 1 home run and 40 runs batted in. He drew 47 walks and was hit by a pitch 3 times, raising his on-base percentage to .346. He stole 7 bases, scored 55 runs, and struck out just 22 times in 407 at bats, making him the seventh-toughest to strike out in the American League (once per every 18.5 at bats).
Defensively, his .959 fielding percentage was just above the league average for third basemen. Rodríguez went back to the minor leagues in 1953, and on October 8 of that year was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League for pitcher Don Johnson.
Rodríguez died at the age of 83 in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Riley, James A. (2002). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. 2nd edition. New York: Carroll & Graf Publ. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from MLB · Baseball Reference · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac and Seamheads
- Retrosheet
- 1920 births
- 2003 deaths
- Baseball players from Artemisa Province
- Alijadores de Tampico players
- Azules de Veracruz players
- Chicago White Sox players
- Cuban expatriate baseball players in Canada
- Diablos Rojos del México players
- Major League Baseball third basemen
- Major League Baseball players from Cuba
- 20th-century Cuban sportsmen
- Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States
- Mexican Baseball League shortstops
- Minor league baseball managers
- Montreal Royals players
- New York Cubans players
- Piratas de Campeche players
- Plataneros de Tabasco players
- San Diego Padres (minor league) players
- Syracuse Chiefs players
- Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players
- Tuneros de San Luis Potosí players
- Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico
- Negro league baseball players from Cuba
