In part twenty-two of my almost 50 part series "Better Know An Oriole" (otherwise known as 2009 Orioles Retrospective), I take a look at fourth-string catcher Guillermo Rodriguez... THE FIGHTIN' GUY YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF!
Rodriguez is a 31 year-old catcher that the O's picked up this past offseason when the Giants released him. He spent most of the year not hitting in the minors (.251/.293/.388 at Double-A, .222/.233/.306 at Triple-A), before being a September call-up for the Birds. He went hit-less in 7 plate appearances in Baltimore, but did walk twice, and had a run scored and an RBI. For all intents and purposes, he's of no use to the team and probably won't ever be in an Orioles uniform again after opting for free agency when the team tried to send him to the minors. He's (presumably) living his dream though!
Photo by AP.
