| Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker | |
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+10gdennis59 TG Pudgerocks laprimamirala GoGetEmTigers SoulRat bobrob2004 iluvpudge7 tigersaint prod 14 posters |
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prod Lakeland Flying Tiger
Number of posts : 825 Location : MI Favorite Current Tiger(s) : i want pudge back Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-05
| Subject: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 7:02 am | |
| HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAT TO YOU YOU ARE SUCH A HOTTIE AND I WANNA YOU | |
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tigersaint Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 8973 Age : 62 Location : Other, but I LIKE it here!! Favorite Current Tiger(s) : All of 'em, except the BAD ones!! Reputation : 25 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:25 am | |
| Very poetic..... | |
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iluvpudge7 Erie SeaWolf
Number of posts : 2194 Location : MI :) Favorite Current Tiger(s) : Not sure yet... Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:05 pm | |
| - prod wrote:
- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAT TO YOU YOU ARE SUCH A HOTTIE AND I WANNA YOU HOW OLD ARE YOU? HOW OLD ARE YOU? YOU'RE A YEAR YOUNGER THAN ME AND I WANNA YOU TOO | |
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tigersaint Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 8973 Age : 62 Location : Other, but I LIKE it here!! Favorite Current Tiger(s) : All of 'em, except the BAD ones!! Reputation : 25 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:32 pm | |
| Two of a kind....... | |
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bobrob2004 DTF1 MODERATOR Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 10646 Age : 39 Location : Warren, MI Reputation : 12 Registration date : 2007-10-05
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:47 pm | |
| How do you ignore threads here? | |
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iluvpudge7 Erie SeaWolf
Number of posts : 2194 Location : MI :) Favorite Current Tiger(s) : Not sure yet... Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:52 pm | |
| - bobrob2004 wrote:
- How do you ignore threads here?
You don't click on them!!! | |
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iluvpudge7 Erie SeaWolf
Number of posts : 2194 Location : MI :) Favorite Current Tiger(s) : Not sure yet... Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:54 pm | |
| No one appreciates fine poetry anymore........ | |
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iluvpudge7 Erie SeaWolf
Number of posts : 2194 Location : MI :) Favorite Current Tiger(s) : Not sure yet... Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 4:01 pm | |
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prod Lakeland Flying Tiger
Number of posts : 825 Location : MI Favorite Current Tiger(s) : i want pudge back Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-05
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:26 pm | |
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prod Lakeland Flying Tiger
Number of posts : 825 Location : MI Favorite Current Tiger(s) : i want pudge back Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-05
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:27 pm | |
| - iluvpudge7 wrote:
- No one appreciates fine poetry anymore........
i know wth??? well i do that was :haha: | |
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prod Lakeland Flying Tiger
Number of posts : 825 Location : MI Favorite Current Tiger(s) : i want pudge back Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-05
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:28 pm | |
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prod Lakeland Flying Tiger
Number of posts : 825 Location : MI Favorite Current Tiger(s) : i want pudge back Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-05
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:28 pm | |
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Last edited by on Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:31 pm; edited 1 time in total | |
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prod Lakeland Flying Tiger
Number of posts : 825 Location : MI Favorite Current Tiger(s) : i want pudge back Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-05
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SoulRat DTF1 ADMINISTRATOR Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 9935 Location : I'm movin' to Florida... Favorite Current Tiger(s) : I like fish at the moment.... Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-04
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:33 pm | |
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iluvpudge7 Erie SeaWolf
Number of posts : 2194 Location : MI :) Favorite Current Tiger(s) : Not sure yet... Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-06
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tigersaint Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 8973 Age : 62 Location : Other, but I LIKE it here!! Favorite Current Tiger(s) : All of 'em, except the BAD ones!! Reputation : 25 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:44 pm | |
| So do HORNY minds..... | |
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iluvpudge7 Erie SeaWolf
Number of posts : 2194 Location : MI :) Favorite Current Tiger(s) : Not sure yet... Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Sun Dec 02, 2007 3:47 pm | |
| Well, yeah............... | |
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tigersaint Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 8973 Age : 62 Location : Other, but I LIKE it here!! Favorite Current Tiger(s) : All of 'em, except the BAD ones!! Reputation : 25 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Mon Dec 03, 2007 12:55 am | |
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prod Lakeland Flying Tiger
Number of posts : 825 Location : MI Favorite Current Tiger(s) : i want pudge back Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-05
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tigersaint Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 8973 Age : 62 Location : Other, but I LIKE it here!! Favorite Current Tiger(s) : All of 'em, except the BAD ones!! Reputation : 25 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Mon Dec 03, 2007 9:15 am | |
| That would have been a gathering I would hate to miss!! | |
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iluvpudge7 Erie SeaWolf
Number of posts : 2194 Location : MI :) Favorite Current Tiger(s) : Not sure yet... Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:05 am | |
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tigersaint Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 8973 Age : 62 Location : Other, but I LIKE it here!! Favorite Current Tiger(s) : All of 'em, except the BAD ones!! Reputation : 25 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:33 am | |
| Why do we have TWO Pudge threads here?? | |
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iluvpudge7 Erie SeaWolf
Number of posts : 2194 Location : MI :) Favorite Current Tiger(s) : Not sure yet... Reputation : 0 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:04 am | |
| I addressed this in the other Pudge thread....... | |
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tigersaint Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 8973 Age : 62 Location : Other, but I LIKE it here!! Favorite Current Tiger(s) : All of 'em, except the BAD ones!! Reputation : 25 Registration date : 2007-10-06
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:18 am | |
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GoGetEmTigers DTF1 ADMINISTRATOR Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 57424 Age : 65 Location : Eastern Ohio, near Wheeling WV Favorite Current Tiger(s) : JV, Hunter, Jackson, Porcello, Avila (really ALL of em!) Reputation : 20 Registration date : 2007-10-05
| Subject: Ivan "Pudge Rodriguez (2004-2008) Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:27 am | |
| 07/30/2008 11:18 PM ET Pudge leaves winning legacy in Detroit Hard-working catcher contributed to Tigers' transformation By Jason Beck / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- Ivan Rodriguez came to Detroit on a big contract and a crazy idea, a future Hall of Fame catcher coming off a world championship taking a chance on a big contract and a promise from an owner to build a winner.
Nearly five years later, history has proven him right. They were good enough, however, that he became expendable.
If the Tigers make a run at a playoff spot over the next two months, they'll do it without Rodriguez, traded to the Yankees on Wednesday for reliever Kyle Farnsworth. Yet as Tigers officials discussed the reasons they parted ways with Rodriguez at this year's Trade Deadline, they acknowledged that there's no way they'd be a contender without him.
"The franchise started coming back on the field the day we signed Pudge," team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "He's been an All-Star. He's given us everything. He busts his tail every day."
He wasn't the first free agent to sign with Detroit on the heels of its 119-loss season, but he was by far the biggest. For many, he made it OK to be a Tiger. And while it took an entire team to finish the turnaround from baseball doormat to American League champion in three years, it will be part of Rodriguez's legacy more than anyone else in Detroit.
"My 4 1/2 years in a Detroit uniform were very good, very nice," Rodriguez said. "People thought Detroit was never going to be a winning team. And guess what? We played in the World Series. We hired a good manager, one of the best managers in the game. It's unbelievable."
It was a marriage of a team looking for a franchise player with a player looking for a franchise when neither seemed able to find a match. Miguel Tejada, Vladimir Guerrero and many other free agents spurned the Tigers' overtures after that disastrous 2003 season. Some agents wouldn't even take their phone calls.
The one prominent free agent left was Rodriguez, a cornerstone on a Marlins team that had just won a World Series. His talent was unquestioned; he drove in 85 runs and hit 16 homers while batting .297 that year. The concern was his health, his age (32) and his history of back issues.
The fiery Rodriguez immediately won over Tigers officials -- especially owner Mike Ilitch, who saw Pudge as potentially his baseball team's version of beloved Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman. A meeting with Ilitch, whose an all-out recruitment effort included a promise to build a winner, won over Rodriguez.
When they agreed to a four-year, $40 million contract, it was seen as a risky, desperate move for the Tigers, and a financial move for Rodriguez. But as much national scrutiny as it created, the sight of a championship baseball player coming to Detroit created a local frenzy. Rodriguez instantly became the face of a franchise that rebounded from just 43 wins in 2003 to 72 in '04.
"Here we were, signing a guy still at the top of his career, coming off a World Series championship, a quality player," Dombrowski said. "For us, it was an important step. And I think it also opened the doors to many other players having an open mind about coming here. We were able to build upon that."
Free agents Magglio Ordonez, Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones followed, as did manager Jim Leyland. The rest is history.
"He really was a huge, huge part of the turnaround," Leyland said, "well before I got here and probably long after I'm gone. You don't want to start slighting anybody, but when the Tigers put the faces of Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez to this franchise, it changed things. "
The players that followed added more and more star power, making Rodriguez less of a prominent superstar and more part of the group. Yet as the Tigers transitioned from also-ran to contender, Rodriguez became known for more than his track record. He added to it, becoming a marvel for the way he maintained his level of play into his mid-30s.
The Tigers backstop hit .500 in a calendar month on his way to a .334 average, 19 homers and 86 RBIs in 2004, then remade his game in '05, reporting to camp with a slimmer frame. He became one of the team's best baserunners, a status he retains even today, and he took advantage of his ability to punch the ball to the opposite field. Rodriguez even began to embrace walks this season, a thought that seemed impossible last year when he drew just nine of them.
All the while, his defensive ability and pitch-calling skills allowed Detroit's young staff to simply concentrate on pitching. When Rodriguez signed, the Tigers hadn't had a starter in the All-Star Game since Cecil Fielder in 1991. Rodriguez started behind the plate for the American League in 2004, '06 and '07 and was a reserve in '05.
"If you would've told me at the time that we signed him that we'd be able to have five years of production out of him, I would not have guessed that," Dombrowski said. "He's worked so hard and taken care of himself, and I tip my cap to him. I'm so impressed with his work ethic and the way he handles himself. He's a Hall of Famer."
Rodriguez became such a part of this franchise that he still used "we" to refer to the Tigers when talking with reporters after the trade.
It wasn't always smooth. He came under scrutiny in 2005 for leaving the country while under suspension for an on-field argument with an umpire, and he took some heat for former manager Alan Trammell's dismissal. And his desire to play every day never ceased, even when Brandon Inge started to cut into his playing time this summer.
"Pudge would play seven days a week," Leyland said. "If there were eight days, he'd play eight, but the good lord made seven. And that's one of the things that you love about him."
Still, his will to win is unquestioned. As Leyland liked to say, he plays hard, he plays hurt, and he comes to beat the other team.
When team officials informed Rodriguez about the trade Wednesday afternoon, they closed the clubhouse so that he could give his good-byes to teammates in private. And he also requested a phone conversation with Ilitch to give his farewell.
"He just thanked me for all the years, the same way I did to him," Rodriguez said. "He's a great owner, an owner who loves to win, and he deserves to win."
He had been pondering his future at times all season, since his contract expires at year's end. He knew Inge's reemergence as a catcher didn't help his own chances of re-signing with Detroit, and he said all season he was prepared for anything.
"When you're a free agent and the month of July comes, you have to think about anything," Rodriguez said. "You never know what's going to happen. You have to be ready for everything. Baseball is like that. It's a sport where you have to play hard, but in the end, you have to see what's going to happen."
He was prepared for this, too. As tough as it was, he was excited for his new chance. He won't have to worry about a franchise turnaround with the Yankees, but he'll still keep an eye on the Tigers as the season unwinds towards Sept. 1. That's when the Yankees visit Detroit for a makeup game that now becomes an event.
"He's loved," Dombrowski said. "And I would assume when he comes back Sept. 1 that there will be one of the biggest ovations you'll ever hear in your life for an opposing player -- and well-deserved."
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. | |
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Guest Guest
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:39 am | |
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GoGetEmTigers DTF1 ADMINISTRATOR Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 57424 Age : 65 Location : Eastern Ohio, near Wheeling WV Favorite Current Tiger(s) : JV, Hunter, Jackson, Porcello, Avila (really ALL of em!) Reputation : 20 Registration date : 2007-10-05
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:47 am | |
| Why, the Yankee fans did not like him! I would gladly keep Pudge over homerun Kyle! | |
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Guest Guest
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:50 am | |
| Farns rocks this year though lol |
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laprimamirala Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 14194 Age : 62 Location : SE Michigan Favorite Current Tiger(s) : Magglio........:) Reputation : 11 Registration date : 2007-10-29
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:43 am | |
| I don't think we got a fair trade. Farnsworth causes fights. Pudge defended himself. He made the Tigers respectable again. I know nothing's forever in beisbol but that doesn't make this trade any more right. | |
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GoGetEmTigers DTF1 ADMINISTRATOR Detroit Tiger
Number of posts : 57424 Age : 65 Location : Eastern Ohio, near Wheeling WV Favorite Current Tiger(s) : JV, Hunter, Jackson, Porcello, Avila (really ALL of em!) Reputation : 20 Registration date : 2007-10-05
| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker Thu Jul 31, 2008 11:20 am | |
| 07/30/2008
Reaction to Pudge trade
CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO | |
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| Subject: Re: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker | |
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| Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Career Tracker | |
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