Eugene Emeralds manager Pat Murphy describes his “little, sawed-off catcher,” Jeremy Rodriguez, with one word — “short.”
“Murph’s right. I’m a short guy,” Rodriguez says.
Although being short describes Rodriguez, the San Diego Padres’ 2011 16th-round draft pick doesn’t let it define him.
“I have a lot of heart when I play this game, and I don’t take things for granted,” Rodriguez says. “I don’t have a lot of opportunity to play professional baseball, so me getting an opportunity to play here for the Padres is huge for me.”
“Oompa Loompa doompadee doo”
When he’s in the batter’s box, short jokes put a smile on Rodriguez’s face like chocolate does for a kid. His short stature — Rodriguez is listed on the Emeralds’ website as 5’8″ — does make him the target for creative heckling from opposing fans, but he uses their insults to get himself prepared during the game.
“Hearing the fans puts a laugh when I’m hitting, so it gets me relaxed and I think I’m ready,” Rodriguez says.
“We need to cut the grass, because the catcher can’t see the mound”
As a catcher, Rodriguez gets the best perspective for the pitching of both the other team and his own.
“He’s got a little extra work to do,” Murphy says. “I think he knows he’s a catcher first, and that’s crucial.”
As a switch-hitter, he gets the added perspective of batting from both sides of the plate.
“I have to do twice as much, hitting both sides of the plate,” Rodriguez says. “I have to make sure I get as many reps as possible from both sides.”
Rodriguez says the added difficulty of being a switch-hitting catcher has the potential to reward his dedication.
“It’s a challenge, but if I want to play Major League Baseball, I know that’s a challenge I’m going to have to overcome,” Rodriguez says.
“Hey Gilligan, it’s the Skipper. How ya doing, little buddy?”
“That mound is a little island,” Rodriguez says. “(I’m) making sure that they feel that they’re not the only person on that island. I’m with them, I’m taking care of them.”
Rodriguez says working with pitchers is his ultimate responsibility as a catcher.
“Handling that pitching staff is a big thing for me,” Rodriguez said. “I think that was a big reason why I got a chance to play professional baseball, and, you know, handling the pitchers as a catcher is one of the biggest things in professional baseball.”
One thing that plays into Rodriguez’s ability to handle the pitching staff is his ability to speak Spanish with the Emeralds’ Dominican pitchers. The son of an immigrant father from Cuba and mother from Peru, Rodriguez didn’t grow up speaking Spanish, but he had to learn the language to communicate with his grandmother, who didn’t speak English.
“I can do the basics,” Rodriguez says. “I can introduce myself, I can talk with them when they’re pitching, to relax, where I want the ball, stuff like that.”
Rodriguez stresses the importance of being bilingual in a sport where approximately one fourth of all players are native Spanish speakers.
“I think the biggest thing is getting those Hispanic pitchers on the right page and making them feel comfortable on the mound and making them feel comfortable with me behind the plate,” Rodriguez says.
“RU-DY! RU-DY! RU-DY!”
(“At first, I was like, ‘That’s not my name,’ but being chanted was pretty cool,” Rodriguez says.)
“He’s a great example to many young people in the world that it doesn’t matter how vertical you are,” Murphy says. “He couldn’t have made it to this point at 5’5” if he didn’t have something really special about him.”