Inside Baseball

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The Marlins come up winners in a gamble on Ivan Rodriguez's fitness

By Albert Chen

As a dealer in 20th century art for nearly 40 years, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria knows a good investment. Last January, after nearly every major league team steered clear of injury-plagued free agent Ivan Rodriguez, Loria boldly signed the 31-year-old catcher, who had missed 176 games over the past three seasons with the Rangers, to a one-year, $10 million deal. "If we had believed he was a high-risk investment, we wouldn't have made it," Loria says. "We viewed him as somebody who could immediately [help] our pitchers while giving us a big bat."

Rodriguez's steadying influence on Florida's young staff has been as important to the team as his hot bat. Chuck Solomon

Rodriguez has given Loria everything the owner had hoped for and is a big reason Florida (64-53 through Sunday) is in playoff contention after five straight losing seasons. Rodriguez ranked first among National League catchers in runs (71), second in RBIs (68) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.905), tied for second in home runs (15) and in batting average (.312).

Since May 22 -- 11 days after manager Jeff Torborg was fired following a 16-22 start and replaced by Jack McKeon -- the Marlins had gone 45-24, the best in the majors over that span, and moved into a tie with the Phillies in the NL wild-card race.

As Florida struggled during the first two months of the season, so did Rodriguez. The 10-time All-Star and 1999 American League MVP had trouble adjusting to National League pitching, hitting .247 and dropping from third to as low as sixth in the order. He snapped out of the slump by becoming more selective at the plate -- Rodriguez already had a career-high 46 walks at week's end -- and he hit .363 with nine homers and 43 RBIs over the next 2 1/2 months. "For the first time since '99, I feel 100 percent," says Rodriguez.

Adding wind sprints to his pregame workout routine has helped Rodriguez stay in shape -- he dropped 30 pounds and now weighs 203. "Now there's no pain anywhere," says Rodriguez. "I feel light and flexible."

Grumblings about Rodriguez skipping pregame meetings with pitchers in Texas in recent seasons followed him into the free-agent market. But in Florida he has handled the young, up-and-coming pitching staff with skill. "He comes to every meeting," says pitching coach Wayne Rosenthal. "When we were playing the American League teams, he was the one leading meetings because he knew the hitters."

"I heard all the rumors," says closer Braden Looper, who had 23 saves through Sunday, "but I'm having my best year, and a lot of it has to do with him." Says 21-year-old rookie sensation Dontrelle Willis (11-2, 2.56 ERA). "As a young pitcher I need all the help I can get, and [Rodriguez] has been awesome."

As well as Rodriguez has fit in with his new team, he may depart after this season, when he can become a free agent again. Neither Rodriguez nor Loria will speculate on the catcher's future with the team, but one thing is certain: Rodriguez, who hired agent Scott Boras in June, will command a huge contract. "The main thing is to finish this season healthy and help the team get to the playoffs," says Rodriguez. "Then we'll see what happens."

Issue date: August 18, 2003

For more Inside Baseball see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, August 13. Click here to subscribe to SI.

 

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