Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Round 32 | Edward Eddie Rodriguez | C | Oregon | SIGNED

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Round 32 | Edward Eddie Rodriguez | C | Oregon | SIGNED

    discuss
    --------------------
    goes by Eddie, not Edward
    --------------------
    from March 31:

    EUGENE - These are the best days of Eddie Rodriguez's life by just about any measure.

    The University of Oregon senior can get down into his catcher's crouch pain free and stay there nearly all day. The line drives are jumping off his bat at a .405 clip, including .468 in his past 19 games. And the limitations of his small-town upbringing in Central Washington are in his rearview mirror.

    He's in control of his own future now, and the constant smile on his face shows it.

    "I just wanted to play so badly," Rodriguez said this week, recalling the frustrations of dealing with a sprained knee last season, "that I was in a depressed mood all year. ... I'm just so happy to be back. I can't wait to get behind the plate."

    He just can't wait for this weekend, either. The Ducks (18-8, 1-2 Pacific-10 Conference), fresh off a dramatic win Sunday at Arizona, open a three-game homestand at PK Park on Thursday against No. 2 Arizona State (23-0, 3-0).

    Ducks coach George Horton likes his catcher to be his quarterback, and that role will most certainly be needed against the dangerous Sun Devils.

    Horton likes Rodriguez's progress there after taking a roundabout route to the Pacific-10 Conference. He spent two sizzling years at Wenatchee Valley Community College, and was good enough to join the Ducks last year.

    "Eddie's done some subtle things, even recently, to improve there," Horton said. "He goes out to the mound to get the pitcher at the right times and is improving in all those intangible areas. I think because he's healthy, his blocking range is better. He's not in the training room all the time, and he can be in the bullpen catching the guys more often.

    "All those things add up."

    It's been a long limp to this point from where Rodriguez was on March 14, 2009, when he tagged up at third base on a fly ball against Nevada.

    "The ball was at home plate 10 feet before I was," he said. "I tried to avoid the tag, so I juked to my left. And as I tried coming around to sweep the plate with my hand, my left cleat caught in the turf. My right knee went straight into the ground."

    The injury, listed as a sprain, was technically a partial tear in the posterior collateral ligament. A day after the injury, Rodriguez couldn't straighten the leg.

    The sprain wasn't bad enough to keep him out for the rest of the season, but it ruined it nonetheless. Unable to push off with his back leg, he hit off his front foot, managing a meager 22 hits in just 99 at-bats. Unable to catch, he played first base and designated hitter.

    Soon, it all got to him. The first to notice was his roommate, pitcher Justin LaTempa.

    "After that Reno game when he got hurt, LaTempa said, "he was really down. It took him awhile to get back to his normal, bubbly self. Even when he was back, he couldn't do the things he normally does."

    After the season, Rodriguez jumped into rehabilitation full force, six days a week while taking summer classes.

    "I was about 90 percent toward the end of the baseball season," Rodriguez said, "and I wanted to get to 100 percent."

    Part of what drove him was a determination not to go back to Warden, Wash., without finishing what he started in Eugene.

    Back in 2006, scouts used to come to tiny Warden to watch the Cougars. But they hardly noticed Rodriguez. Instead, they came to see his cousin and the other end of the Cougar battery -- pitcher Jorge Reyes.

    Reyes, of course, went on to Oregon State and won two games in the College World Series as a freshman and was the Most Outstanding Player of the Beavers' 2007 national championship team.

    Watching his cousin's success on television back in Washington left Rodriguez hungry.

    "What he did," Rodriguez said, "built a spark in me. It made me think that people from small towns can do big things."

    The cousins had parallel athletic careers, both also wrestling and playing football.

    "Edward was quite an athlete..." said Jerry Powell, who coached both. "In a school our size, it's hard to get recognized. We're tickled to death for a player to play in college -- I couldn't have dreamed for DI for two of them.

    "Edward was always very competitive. He was a great team leader. And the way he hit for me, I'm not surprised at what he's doing now."
    http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindduc..._rodrigue.html
    Last edited by emkayseven; 06-09-2010, 01:19 PM. Reason: Doublepost Merged
    Originally posted by Madman81
    Most of the people in the world being dumb is not a requirement for you to be among their ranks.
    Need help? Questions? Concerns? Want to chat? PM me!

  • #2
    Oregon senior catcher Eddie Rodriguez was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 32nd round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday.
    Rodriguez, a 2010 Pac-10 honorable mention selection, finished his senior season batting .329 for the Ducks, while leading Oregon in slugging percentage (.482), RBI (45) and home runs (7).

    The native of Warden, Wash., was the 977th overall pick in this year’s draft, after helping lead the Ducks to a 40-24 record, and a postseason berth.

    Rodriguez started 61 games for Oregon – 56 behind the plate – and batted cleanup for the majority of the season. He totaled 75 hits and scored 38 runs, while adding 12 doubles, one triple and 22 walks with a .988 fielding percentage.

    He recorded 20 multiple-hit games, 11 multiple-RBI games and produced a 10-game hitting streak that spanned from Feb. 28-March 14.

    A two-time Pac-10 Player of the Week during the 2010 season, Rodriguez became the first Oregon player in the modern era to hit for the cycle, clinching the feat with a three-run homer in the eighth as Oregon defeated East Tennessee State, 17-7, on May 16. On that afternoon, Rodriguez led the Ducks with a 4-for-6 performance from the plate that included a career-high five RBI.

    He also helped Oregon to a 6-5 come-from-behind victory in the regular season finale vs. California on May 30. Rodriguez erased a 5-2 deficit with a three-run homer in the fifth inning – his seventh of the season.

    Rodriguez spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons at Oregon after playing two seasons at Wenatchee Valley Community College.

    He leaves the Ducks with a career .297 batting average, 50 runs scored, 97 hits, 19 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 53 RBI, 33 walks and six stolen bases.

    He was the fourth Oregon Duck to be selected in the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Senior right-hander Justin LaTempa was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 12th round (384 overall); redshirt junior Drew Gagnier was selected in the 17th round (523overall) by the Detroit Tigers; and senior Zack Thornton was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 23rd round (695 overall).
    http://www.kval.com/sports/96032244.html
    Originally posted by Madman81
    Most of the people in the world being dumb is not a requirement for you to be among their ranks.
    Need help? Questions? Concerns? Want to chat? PM me!

    Comment


    • #3
      Signed on GCL roster

      http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/m...=t_ros&cid=467

      Comment

      Working...
      X