| Héctor Rodríguez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Third baseman /Shortstop | |
| Born:(1920-06-13)June 13, 1920 Alquízar, Cuba | |
| Died: September 1, 2003(2003-09-01) (aged 83) Cancún,Quintana Roo,Mexico | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Professional debut | |
| NgL: 1944, for the New York Cubans | |
| MLB: April 15, 1952, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 16, 1952, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .269 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 52 |
| Stolen bases | 13 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
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| Member of the Caribbean | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1998 |
Héctor Antonio Rodríguez Ordeñana (June 13, 1920 – September 1, 2003) was aCubanMajor League Baseballthird baseman andshortstop for one season (1952) with theChicago White Sox. His natural position was shortstop, but he had the misfortune to be with the White Sox whileChico Carrasquel played the position, followed by all-time greatLuis Aparicio.
A native ofAlquízar, Cuba, Rodríguez played in theNegro leagues with theNew York Cubans in1939 and1944, and in theMexican League, in1945–1946 prior to the integration of organized baseball.
Before the1951 season, Rodríguez was acquired by theBrooklyn Dodgers from theTuneros de San Luis Potosí of the Mexican League. He was assigned to Brooklyn's farm club, theMontreal Royals, where hebatted .302. On December 6 of that same year he was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox forfirst basemanRocky Nelson.
Rodríguez was Chicago's regular third baseman during the 1952 season. He appeared in 124games for the 81–73White Sox and hit .265 with 1home run and 40runs batted in. He drew 47walks and washit by a pitch 3 times, raising hison-base percentage to .346. He stole 7 bases, scored 55runs, andstruck out just 22 times in 407at bats, making him the seventh-toughest to strike out in theAmerican League (once per every 18.5at bats).
Defensively, his .959fielding percentage was just above the league average for third basemen. Rodríguez went back to theminor leagues in 1953, and on October 8 of that year was traded to theToronto Maple Leafs of theInternational League forpitcherDon Johnson.
While Rodríguez never again made it back to the big league level, he had an outstanding career with theToronto Maple Leafs when they were the top-drawing team in theInternational League during the 1950s. He teamed with second basemanMike Goliat to turn spectaculardouble plays. Rodríguez was so good at the position, the White Sox sent a film crew toToronto to record his skill at turning double plays to be used in training theirminor leagueshortstops. He was renowned for his underhand flip throws from deep in the hole between shortstop and third base, a throw not seen in Toronto untilTony Fernandez played shortstop for theAmerican LeagueToronto Blue Jays in the 1990s.
Rodríguez died at the age of 83 inCancún,Quintana Roo,Mexico.
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