Pudge

Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. One of the best and most well-known catchers in baseball from the ‘90s to the present. The only backstop to overshadow his prime was Mike Piazza. I-Rod was and still is a rare combination of consistent hitting and a cannon arm. Pudge is one game away from tying Hall-of-Famer Carlton Fisk on the all-time list for games caught. This milestone has much more worth than it would appear. Back problems make the art of catching very tough. Add on to that the fact that the catcher calls every pitch thrown by his pitcher and the fact that Rodriguez had to catch his first 12 seasons in the blistering summer heat of Texas. Pudge, a member of the Astros, will head back to Texas in an interleague match, which is an appropriate setting for him to tie and break the record. Fisk’s storied career goes past his durability. He played an unrealistic 24 seasons in the majors, a feat most other position players can’t accomplish. Fisk was a Red Sox backstop throughout the ‘70s before joining the White Sox, where he would stay until he retired after the ’93 season.
Although Fisk and Rodriguez weren’t quite Mike Piazza, Johnny Bench, or Yogi Berra, they were still some of the toughest guys to ever play the position. Fisk, also known as Pudge, is mostly remembered for his famous home run to win Game 6 of the 1975 World Series against Bench and the Big Red Machine. The blast was launched in the 12th inning, but was the most memorable detail about it was the fact that Fisk was waving for the ball to go fair as it sailed over the Green Monster. Nevertheless, the Red Sox lost the series, and Fisk never won a World Series title. Rodriguez, on the other hand, won a championship with the Florida Marlins in 2003. The still active Pudge should be a lock for the Hall-of-Fame that Fisk resides in. Ivan’s 2649 hits and .300 career batting average after 19 seasons are more impressive than Carlton’s 2356 hits and .269 career average in 24 campaigns. Fisk’s 376 homers are 76 ahead of Rodriguez’, but I-Rod’s 1243 RBI’s are just 87 behind, a milestone the younger Pudge could easily reach, barring injury. Rodriguez also won an MVP award in 1999, something Fisk couldn’t accomplish. I-Rod should also be remembered for being the first catcher in MLB history to have a season with more than 30 homers, 100 RBIs, and 100 runs. He was also the first catcher to record more than 20 homers and 20 steals in a season.
Even though Rodriguez’ legacy shall endure forever in the Hall-of-Fame, there is another active catcher who has a chance to make a much bigger impact. After winning the batting title in his second season, Joe Mauer of the Twins has exploded into the spotlight of baseball stardom. Despite missing a month of this season due to an injury, Mauer is only 7 homers behind the AL leaders. He will easily win the batting title again this season if he can get in enough at-bats to qualify. His .414 batting average is 50 points higher than the current leader David Wright. The greatest news is that Mauer is just 26 years old. Only time and injuries can tell us if Mauer can have the durability and consistency to join Pudge, Pudge, Piazza, Bench, Berra and a few others as the greatest catchers of all time.