Ellie Rodríguez, former Dodgers catcher, dies at age 79

TL;DR

Ellie Rodríguez, former Dodgers catcher, passed away at 79. He played nine MLB seasons and was known for his contributions to the Atlantic League and his role as the first All-Star in Royals history.

Key points

Ellie Rodríguez died at age 79.
He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball.
Rodríguez was the first All-Star in Royals history.
He had a .400 on-base percentage in his only season with the Dodgers.
Rodríguez contributed significantly to the Atlantic League.

Mentioned in this story

Ellie Rodríguez

Los Angeles DodgersKansas City RoyalsNew York YankeesMilwaukee Brewers

Mets' Joe Torre slides under Dodger catcher Ellie Rodriguez as he scores on a single by Jerry Grote. Umpire Andy Olson makes the all as the Mets take an eight inning 4-1 lead. The Dodgers came back in the ninth inning to score four runs and beat the Mets 6-5. (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) Ellie Rodríguez, the Puerto Rican catcher who played nine major league seasons died on Thursday at age 79. Rodríguez only played the one season for the Dodgers, but he held a notable place in local baseball lore. The Dodgers acquired Rodríguez at the end of spring training in 1976 from the Angels for backup outfielder Orlando Álvarez. That was the only trade involving multiple major league players between the Dodgers and Angels from 1976 for nearly four decades, a streak that was only snapped at the 2014 winter meetings when intermittent Dodger Andrew Heaney was sent to Anaheim for Howie Kendrick. In his one season for the Dodgers, Rodríguez played 33 games behind the plate, with 21 starts, batted a total of 90 times and had no extra-base hits. But he walked 19 times and was hit by three pitches, giving him the wonderful .212/.400/.212 batting line. The .400 on-base percentage was rare among Dodgers catchers in franchise history.