Frank Rodriguez

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Francisco Rodriguez (born December 11, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball.

Rodriguez won the Dick Howser Trophy in 1991. At the time of the award, Rodriguez was playing for Howard Junior College in Big Spring, Texas. As the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy for college football, The Dick Howser Trophy is the annual national award for the outstanding collegiate baseball player. Since 1991, no other junior college baseball player has won the award. Rodriguez was an outstanding shortstop and pitcher for the Howard College Hawks and he led his team to the 1991 National Junior College World Series Championship held annually in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Rodriguez was drafted as a shortstop by the Boston Red Sox in the second round of the 1990 amateur draft. An agreement was reached a few weeks into the 1991 season, after which he was assigned to the Class A-Short Season Elmira Pioneers. When his new teammates greeted him at the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport, the Brooklyn native was wearing clothes with the New York Yankees logo. After Rodriguez advanced to Class A Lynchburg Red Sox, the Red Sox realized he had greater value as a pitcher, a position he quickly began playing.

He made his major league debut for the Red Sox on Wednesday, April 26, 1995.

Soon after, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins for closer Rick Aguilera. He did not pitch well for the Twins, posting a 25–32 record with the team in over three years of service. The Seattle Mariners claimed him off waivers in May 1999 where he then played for the Mariners through the end of the 2000 season. He next played for the Cincinnati Reds in 2001 then did not pitch in the majors again.

He finished with a MLB career record of 29–39 and ERA of 5.53.

In 2008, he returned to pro baseball playing for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League where he pitched to a 2–1 record, with 7.79 ERA.

As of 2021^[update], Rodriguez is an assistant coach for the baseball team at SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, New York.^[1][2]

- Mercy University, Pitching Coach.^[3]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)