Chico Rodríguez

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Ituarte.
Chico Rodríguez
Shortstop
Born: (1943-10-04) 4 October 1943 (age 81)
Cananea, Sonora, Mexico
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Member of the Mexican Professional
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction2004

Francisco "Chico" Rodríguez Ituarte (born 4 October 1943) is a Mexican former professional baseball shortstop. He played during 20 seasons in the Mexican League and the Mexican Pacific League.

Early life

Rodríguez was born in Cananea, Sonora on 4 October 1943. His father, Aurelio Rodriguez Sr. played baseball in the Mexican League and was a member of the Mexican team that played in the 1953 Amateur World Series. He is the brother of the late Aurelio Rodríguez, who spent the bulk of his Major League career with the Detroit Tigers and died on 23 September 2000 in a traffic accident.[1][2]

Career

Chico Rodríguez spent twenty seasons playing professional baseball in Mexico. He made his professional debut in the Mexican League in 1965 for the Tigres de México. In 1967, he was traded to El Águila de Veracruz, where he was an important player on the infield, winning the 1970 season championship, defeating Diablos Rojos del México in the final series. In 1975, El Águila moved to Aguascalientes and became the Rieleros de Aguascalientes, but Rodríguez continued playing with the new franchise. In 1978, Chico won the Mexican League title with the Rieleros.[3][4]

Rodríguez also played winter baseball in the Mexican Pacific League with the Naranjeros de Hermosillo and most notably with the Cañeros de Los Mochis.[5]

In 2004, Rodríguez was elected to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.[5]

References

  1. ^ Guerrero, Mario (8 October 2019). "75 peloteros emblemáticos de la LMP: Francisco 'Chico' Rodríguez". AS.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Aurelio Rodríguez". Cuarto Bat (in Spanish). 18 December 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Francisco Chico Rodríguez un grande de las paradas cortas" (in Spanish). Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Francisco Rodríguez Ituarte, un Chico entre los grandes del beis". El Deportivo Saltillo (in Spanish). 28 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Inmortales 2004" (in Spanish). Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano. Retrieved 12 June 2023.