Miami and MLB honor Latin American greats
MIAMI — Pudge Rodriguez never played in Marlins Park, but he looked right at home during a ceremony honoring Latin American Hall of Famers before Tuesday night’s AllStar Game.
Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican catcher who will be inducted into the hall in Cooperstown, N.Y., at the end of the month, spent one year with the Florida Marlins, becoming a fan favorite as the franchise won the 2003World Series.
When hewas introduced Tuesday night, Rodriguez walked to home plate and held up a baseball, mimicking the pose he struck during the 2003 playoffs after a series-clinching collision with San Francisco’s J.T. Snow. The packed crowdwent into a frenzy for Rodriguez, the last of nine Latin Americans honored.
MLBalso recognized formerMarlins manager Tony Perez (Cuba), Rod Carew (Panama), Juan Marichal (Dominican Republic), Pedro Martinez (Dominican Republic), Roberto Alomar (Puerto Rico), Orlando Cepeda (Puerto Rico), Luis Aparicio (Venezuela) and relatives of Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico). Aparicio was not in Miami for the ceremony because of unrest in Venezuela.
Alex Pompez also was honored on the Marlins Park video board after the first inning. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006 for his role in scouting, signing and developing international players.
Each player was accompanied by his nation’s flag to the pitcher’s mound before delivering a ceremonial first pitch to a current All-Star. Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna (Dominican Republic) and Athletics first baseman Yonder Alonso (Cuba) were among the current players to catch the tosses. Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton brought flowers to Clemente’s family.
This year’s All-Star rosters have 23 foreign-born players, including 21 from Latin American countries. There have now been 282 foreign-born All-Stars, with the Dominican Republic leading the way with 89 selections.
In his lone season with the Marlins, Rodriguez played in144 games, posting a .297/.369/.474 slash line with 16 home runs. He left via free agency to Detroit months after leading the Marlins to the franchise’s second championship.
Rodriguez is most remembered for his 14 AllStar selections with Texas and Detroit, and his 13 Gold Gloves.
mdefranks@sun-sentinel .com, Twitter@MDeFranks