Pudge’s son gets called up by S.F.

DENVER — Just to make sure it was real and not some sort of flashback to his childhood, he checked the name above the clubhouse locker. Dereck Rodriguez. Yep, it was his all right and not that of his father — Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

“I’ve been to a lot of stadiums. But I wasn’t here for me. I was here for my dad,” the righthanded pitcher said. “It’s nice coming here and having my name on the locker and not his.”

The San Francisco Giants purchased his contract from Triple-A Sacramento, where he went 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA after signing as a minor league free agent on Nov. 15. He was the probable starting pitcher for Monday’s game in Sacramento against Albuquerque before his promotion.

Rodriguez was in the bullpen Monday night against the Rockies in Colorado but didn’t play.

His mom already had arrived in Denver. But his father, whose nickname was “Pudge,” happened to be in Colombia. Rodriguez said he spoke to his dad, who was “probably the most emotional out of everybody.”

His father was a 14-time AllStar and 13-time Gold Glove catcher who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. He played in 2,543 games with Texas, Detroit, Washington, New York Yankees, Houston and Florida (now Miami).

The father posted on his Twitter account : “Congrats son very proud of you and welcome to the big show.”