JAWS and the 2025 Corridor of Fame Poll: Fernando Rodney

The next article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing take a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2025 Corridor of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this 12 months’s poll, and different candidates within the collection, use the software above; an introduction to JAWS will be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule, see right here. All WAR figures confer with the Baseball Reference model until in any other case indicated.

Fernando Rodney is a person of many hats, most of them barely askew. Over the course of a 17-year main league profession, the Dominican-born reliever confirmed off his signature model whereas pitching for 11 totally different groups, and that’s not even counting his minor league, unbiased, winter league, or worldwide stops. Throughout his time, he notched 327 saves (nineteenth all-time), made three All-Star groups, and pitched in two World Collection, incomes a hoop with the 2019 Washington Nationals. Within the course of, he gave the hearts of his managers loads of exercises as his command got here and went, forcing him to work his means out of jams. However when all of it got here collectively for Rodney — because it did in 2012, when he posted a microscopic 0.60 ERA whereas saving 48 video games for the Rays — he was a sight to behold.

Rodney’s crooked hat was simply certainly one of his well-known quirks. He additionally shot an imaginary arrow into the sky after closing video games, most famously upon recording the ultimate out for the Dominican Republic within the 2013 World Baseball Basic championship sport.

Even at age 47, 5 years previous his final main league look, Rodney remains to be including to his assortment of hats and presumably practising his fake archery. In November, he inked a take care of the unbiased Hamilton Cardinals of the Intercounty League.

“He could be the hardest pitcher I’ve ever managed,” former Tigers supervisor Jim Leyland advised The Athletic’s Sam Blum in January 2024. “He was a warrior. He was sturdy as a bull. I feel he’s been pitching with a torn labrum for 15 years… He loves the sport. He loves the competitors. It’s been his entire life.”

…

Fernando Rodney was born on March 18, 1977, in Samana, Dominican Republic to oldsters Ulise and Idalia Rodney. Ulise, his father, was a fisherman and the supply of the inspiration for Rodney’s crooked hat. “He wore his hat to the left aspect of his head,” Fernando advised the Mercury Information‘ Martin Gallegos in 2019, “and after I requested him why, he stated it was as a result of when the solar would come out throughout a sure time of the day and hit that aspect, he would flip it that means so as to block the solar. When he handed away, I made a decision to maintain it like that for him.”

Rodney discovered that the crooked hat might confuse batters and baserunners. “The hitter appears on your eyes. It’s like a canine. If you go someplace, the very first thing [a dog] appears at is your eyes and the way you progress,” he advised the Tacoma Information Tribune’s Bob Dutton in 2014. “After I put [the cap] like that, the runner at first, typically I feel they suppose I’m taking a look at them. They are saying, ‘Oh, he’s taking a look at me,’ they usually cease [from taking a bigger lead].”

The Tigers signed Rodney out of the Dominican Republic in 1997 for only a $3,000 bonus, believing he was 16 on the time. He was truly 20, a discrepancy that wasn’t ironed out till 2002 amid the federal authorities’s crackdown on immigration documentation within the wake of September 11. Rodney was initially an outfielder, however by the summer season of 1998, he was pitching within the Dominican Summer season League, armed with a fastball and a reduce slider. The Tigers appreciated his arm power however had considerations about his top (5-foot-11) and sturdiness.

When Rodney got here stateside in 1999, the Tigers suggested him to study a sinker to provide hitters a distinct look, however they left him to determine the pitch. Per the St. Paul Pioneer Press‘ Mike Berardino in 2018:

“I’m searching for a two-seam fastball however I don’t know learn how to throw it,” he recalled. “Sooner or later we’re in this system, early within the morning, enjoying catch and attempting to prepare for the PFP (pitchers’ fielding observe). I advised my associate at the moment, Samuel Rivera, ‘Hey, I’m going to throw two-seam.’ ”

Rodney shifted his grip to the surface of the baseball, lifted his leg and fired towards Rivera. The ball dived violently towards Rivera’s ankles as Rodney’s throwing associate jumped out of the way in which with a yelp.

…“Don’t throw that pitch once more to me,” Rivera stated. “You don’t know what it’s.”

Rodney started his skilled profession with the Tigers’ Gulf Coast League affiliate, placing out 44 batters in 36.1 innings with a 2.23 ERA. In late August, he was promoted to Excessive-A Lakeland, the place he made 4 appearances. After the season, Baseball America ranked him fifth on its GCL prospects record, noting his lack of top however including, “Rodney simply had the very best velocity within the Northern Division. He often touched 98 mph and combined in a top quality slider, giving him the 2 energy pitches wanted to develop into a more in-depth. He’s additionally received nearer make-up to go together with his stuff.”

Rodney frolicked at each A-level West Michigan (2000) and Lakeland (2001) working as a starter so as to get extra innings, however as BA famous, his mechanics and repertoire wanted polish. “The excellent news about Rodney is that he’s the toughest thrower in Detroit’s system. The unhealthy information is that his fastball is straight as an arrow. Even so, 98 mph is 98 mph,” the publication wrote in 2001.

After beginning the 2002 season at Double-A Erie, the 25-year-old Rodney was referred to as as much as the majors and debuted on Could 4, six days after his father’s dying from most cancers. His debut was inauspicious, a tough inning and a 3rd in opposition to the Twins in Minnesota. He received the ultimate two outs of the eighth, however the Twins loaded the bases within the ninth through a single, a sacrifice, an intentional stroll, and an error by shortstop Shane Halter. Cristian Guzman then hit a bouncer that second baseman Damian Jackson stopped, however he couldn’t flip to Halter in time for the forceout; the run was unearned. Rodney took one other loss in his subsequent look on Could 8, getting into one other tied sport within the ninth and battling Troy Glaus for seven pitches earlier than serving up a walk-off solo homer. It took him till his fourth outing to file his first strikeout (in opposition to the Angels’ Tim Salmon), after which he was despatched again to Erie. He dominated there and at Triple-A Toledo, posting a 1.05 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 42.2 innings, however in 4 separate stints with the Tigers was cuffed for a 6.00 ERA with 10 walks and 10 strikeouts in 18 innings.

When the Tigers demoted Rodney to Toledo, they advised him he wanted one other pitch. He taught himself a circle change, with the information of his thumb and index finger barely touching. Together with his older changeup grip, the pitch got here in at 88-89 mph, however his new grip allowed him to sluggish the pitch to 84-85 mph, whereas including late sink and fade to the arm aspect.

Rodney’s cap-tilting truly started whereas enjoying within the Dominican Winter League in 2002, although the angle would stay somewhat refined till later in his profession. He shuttled between Toledo and Detroit in 2003, posting a 6.07 ERA in 29.2 innings with the Tigers whereas changing simply three of six save possibilities.

Within the spring of 2004, Rodney tore his ulnar collateral ligament. He underwent Tommy John surgical procedure on April 29 and missed your complete season, throughout which the Tigers almost set a file for futility by dropping 119 video games. Coupled with a bout of shoulder irritation the next spring, he didn’t return to main league motion till June 12, 2005, and spent the season’s last two months closing after Kyle Farnsworth was traded to the Braves on July 31. Rodney notched 9 saves whereas posting a 2.86 ERA and eight.6 strikeouts per 9 in 44 innings, although the Tigers’ 8-24 file in September and October restricted his ninth-inning alternatives.

With Todd Jones‘ return to the Tigers in free company, Rodney returned to a setup position beneath Leyland, who had taken over for the fired Alan Trammell, and posted a 3.52 ERA (129 ERA+) with seven saves in 71.2 innings. The Tigers received 95 video games and claimed the American League Wild Card spot. Within the postseason, Rodney threw 3.2 scoreless innings in opposition to the A’s within the ALCS however was roughed up for 4 runs (two earned) in 4 innings by the Cardinals within the World Collection, blowing a save in Recreation 4 due partially to his personal throwing error.

Rodney spent three extra years (2007–09) giving Leyland grey hair, posting a 4.48 ERA (101 ERA+) however strolling an ugly 5.0 per 9 innings. To be honest, he missed appreciable time in that span because of arm troubles, dropping about two months to 2 bouts of biceps irritation in 2007, then lacking the primary two months of ’08 because of shoulder impingement. He reclaimed the nearer job in July 2008, and saved 13 video games in 18 possibilities the remainder of the way in which. In 2009, his first full season as nearer, he saved 37 of the Tigers’ 86 wins and blew only one save probability whereas posting a 4.42 ERA in 73 video games, a complete that ranked seventh within the league; Rodney’s 65 video games completed led the circuit.

Rodney’s final look of 2009 stung, nonetheless. With the Tigers and Twins tied at 85-77 via 162 video games, the 2 groups confronted off in Minnesota in a tiebreaker. Rodney entered the sport within the ninth inning with the rating tied 4-4 and a runner on second with one out. He escaped that jam, however after the Tigers scored a run off Jesse Crain within the prime of the tenth, Rodney allowed a leadoff triple by Michael Cuddyer, who got here round to re-tie the sport. He was nonetheless on the mound within the twelfth inning however faltered; Carlos Gomez singled, took second on a groundout, and scored the AL Central-winning run on Alexi Casilla’s single.

A free agent that winter, Rodney signed a two-year, $11 million take care of the Angels, however issues didn’t go properly. He was out and in of the nearer job in 2010 and ’11, and restricted to 32 innings and three saves within the latter season, throughout which he clashed with supervisor Mike Scioscia. For the 2 seasons, he posted a 4.32 ERA (91 ERA+) with a internet of -0.3 WAR.

It will not have been a shock if Rodney had pale into obscurity at that time, however as an alternative, he received a brand new lease on life with a one-year, $2 million take care of the Rays. Whereas Farnsworth was anticipated to function the workforce’s nearer, an elbow pressure left supervisor Joe Maddon with Rodney and Joel Peralta as his ninth-inning choices. Rodney received first crack and transformed his first 4 save possibilities earlier than permitting a single run. By the point he blew his first save, on Could 26, he had notched 15 saves and, after permitting two earned runs, owned a 1.13 ERA.

The Rays had directed Rodney to maneuver to the first-base aspect of the rubber, which gave him higher command of his sinker, which by this level he was throwing 53% of the time; after hitting .316 and slugging .395 in opposition to it in 2011, batters hit .235 and slugged .261 in opposition to it in ’12. His changeup was much more unhittable, with batters managing only a .070 AVG and .079 SLG in 121 PA in opposition to it, with a 51.2% whiff charge. Rodney not solely notched 48 saves (second within the league) whereas blowing simply two, he posted a 0.60 ERA in 74.2 innings, the bottom single-season mark to that time for any pitcher with at the very least 50 innings (Zack Britton’s 0.54 surpassed it in 2016). His 3.7 WAR that 12 months accounts for half of his profession worth.

In his profession 12 months — at age 35! — Rodney made his first All-Star workforce, positioned fifth within the Cy Younger voting (and thirteenth within the MVP voting) and meshed properly with Maddon, who stated of the nearer’s crooked hat, “I do know some baseball purists don’t prefer it or dig it… I find it irresistible, and you can put a capital L-O-V-E in there. He’s simply expressing himself and for people who have a tough time with that, too unhealthy.”

Rodney’s bow-and-arrow celebration started throughout the 2012 season. It was one other reference to his roots, on this case his hometown. Through The New York Occasions‘ Tyler Kepner in 2018:

Because the story goes, natives of Samaná greeted Christopher Columbus with arrows after he arrived on their shores in 1493, inspiring the nickname Golfo de Las Flechas, or Bay of Arrows, for the realm. However there was one more reason for Rodney’s ritual.

“I watch lots of the Animal Channel, and also you see the man get the arrow and shoot,” he stated. “Once they shoot it in a great place, they’ll run, however you understand they’re going to be lifeless. In order that’s how the thought received in my thoughts: After I shoot the arrow, the sport is over.”

The Rays missed the playoffs in 2012, however choosing up Rodney’s $2.5 million possibility was a no brainer. Earlier than the beginning of the season, Rodney’s stature elevated even additional together with his play within the World Baseball Basic. Rodney had pitched for the Dominican Republic in 2006, when the workforce completed fourth, however not in ’09. He was so desirous to return to the occasion that he claimed to not have even cleared it with the Rays, telling the Dominican newspaper El Caribe, “You don’t should ask permission to signify your nation.”

The Dominican workforce featured All-Stars similar to Robinson Canó, Nelson Cruz, Edwin Encarnación, Hanley Ramirez, José Reyes, Miguel Tejada and extra, although the pitching was significantly weaker. Nonetheless, they ran the desk, going 8-0, with Rodney saving seven of their wins with out permitting a single run; he yielded only one hit and three walks in 7.1 innings whereas placing out eight. He moreover injected some entertaining lore into the match by acquiring a plantain from a fan at AT&T Park earlier than the workforce’s semifinals sport in opposition to the Netherlands in change for an autographed baseball, then adopting it because the workforce’s fortunate appeal. He displayed it throughout participant introductions and claimed that it had been flown in from the D.R., a narrative that was, alas, too good to be true.

Rodney by no means got here near matching his 2012 efficiency, however he was a greater reliever within the years following that season than he’d been earlier than, no small feat for a pitcher on the improper aspect of 35. In 2013 with the Rays, he was stable however not distinctive, posting a 3.38 ERA and saving 37 video games (in 45 makes an attempt) in 66.2 innings. He had a rocky four-out save in opposition to the Blue Jays on the ultimate scheduled day of the common season, by which he allowed two inherited runners to attain. The win despatched the Rays to a Recreation 163 tiebreaker in opposition to the Rangers, which they received; Rodney then pitched a scoreless ninth to complete off a 4-0 Wild Card Recreation win over Cleveland, however allowed runs in every of his two Division Collection appearances in opposition to Boston, vulturing a win in Recreation 3.

Even when his efficiency remained considerably erratic, Rodney’s time with the Rays and within the WBC amplified his stature. His humorousness and talent to mentor younger pitchers turned his calling playing cards as a lot as his sinker/changeup combo. Groups signed up for the Fernando Rodney Expertise whereas figuring out, as USA As we speak’s Jorge L. Ortiz put it, “The entire endeavor will not be appropriate for cardiac sufferers.”

Rodney signed a two-year, $14 million take care of the Mariners in 2014, then led the AL with 48 saves (in 51 makes an attempt) and a 2.85 ERA in 66.1 innings in his first 12 months — making his second All-Star workforce — however pitched his means out of the nearer position and off the roster in his second. Carrying a 5.68 ERA, he was designated for task in late August, then traded to the Cubs, for whom he promptly reeled off 12 innings with a 0.75 ERA for the playoff-bound workforce. He signed a one-year, $2 million take care of the Padres for 2016, with a membership possibility for ’17, then continued his late-’15 dominance by posting a 0.31 ERA in 28.2 innings. The Padres bought excessive, buying and selling him to the Marlins for prospect Chris Paddack on June 30. Rodney’s ERA was nonetheless simply 1.04 when he represented the Marlins on the All-Star Recreation, although he was lit for a 5.89 ERA in 36.2 innings throughout his time with Miami.

Rodney continued to maintain the U.S. Postal Service on its toes together with his modifications of handle. He spent 2017, his age-40 season, with the Diamondbacks, saving 39 video games with a 4.23 ERA; the final of these saves was the three hundredth of his profession.

Rodney put up a 3.36 ERA in a 2018 season that started with him closing in Minnesota and ended with him establishing in Oakland. The A’s then picked up his $4.25 million possibility, solely to launch him in late Could after he was torched for 15 runs in 14.1 innings. Rodney landed on his toes, signing with the Nationals and pitching to a 4.05 ERA in 33.1 innings. He made half a dozen low-leverage reduction appearances for them throughout their postseason run to a championship, together with three within the World Collection in opposition to the Astros; by some means he managed to stroll 9 batters in 4.2 innings but permit solely two runs. His first World Collection look, a scoreless inning in Recreation 2, made him the fourth participant to look in all 4 rounds of the postseason for each AL and NL groups, becoming a member of Carlos Beltrán, Jon Lester, and Ben Zobrist.

Even after profitable a World Collection at age 42, Rodney wasn’t able to cease pitching. After making one look for the unbiased Sugar Land Skeeters in 2020, he signed a minor league take care of the Astros and spent 5 weeks at their alternate coaching website. From 2021–23, he cut up his 12 months between the Mexican League (the Toros de Tijuana for 2021–22, and the Diablo Rojos del Mexico and Leones de Yucatan for ’23) and the Dominican Winter League. A 12 months in the past, he advised The Athletic he was searching for a shot at a significant league comeback:

“I’m attempting to get to 50,” Rodney stated flatly, earlier than bellowing out amusing. Even he is aware of how ridiculous it sounds. “That’s my guess proper now. I nonetheless contact 95, 94, 93, 92 after I need. I feel there will be three extra years.

…“There’s a 99 p.c probability it’s not going to be,” Rodney stated. “There’s no assure it’s going to occur.”

Fernando Rodney abides. I don’t learn about you, however I take consolation in that. It’s good figuring out he’s on the market, peering in with that cockeyed hat, pitching out of a jam someplace.