He’s the Angels’ other Francisco Rodriguez
He was a rookie in his first major league spring training camp. He didn’t speak English.
Who was Francisco Rodriguez to question what was written on the bulletin board inside the Angels’ clubhouse in Tempe, Ariz.?
Scheduled to pitch one inning that day in 2006 for the Angels against the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale: Francisco Rodriguez.
Looking at the name, Rodriguez was confused. After all, he had pitched three innings the previous day. That meant he was supposed to have the following day off.
But there was no way he was going to say anything about it.
“You know how the Latino player is, kind of shy when they don’t speak the language,” he said. “So I just took my stuff and jumped on the bus and hit the road.”
It wasn’t until he was stretching in Scottsdale that his pitching coach informed him it was the other Francisco Rodriguez — Angels closer extraordinaire — who was supposed to pitch.
Mex-Rod, meet K-Rod.
“I went to the door and Frankie Rodriguez was walking in and I met him,” the less-heralded Rodriguez recalled. “It was kind of goofy.”
Four years later, there has been nothing awkward about Rodriguez’s first season with the Angels. The reliever did not give up a run in his first 8 1/3 innings, helping to stabilize a wobbly bullpen that had a 5.36 earned-run average before his promotion late last month from triple-A Salt Lake and a 3.88 ERA since.
“He’s been a huge boost,” fellow reliever Scot Shields said. “It seems like ever since he got here, the bullpen’s kind of gotten back on track.”
Before this season, the only thing notable about Rodriguez’s career was that he had led the California League with 13 losses in 2006. His minor league statistics — the right-hander was 19-30 with a 4.99 ERA in his first four seasons — provided no clue that he was capable of excelling on baseball’s biggest stage.
“When you look at the numbers you might say, ‘Oh, this guy’s numbers weren’t that great,’ ” Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher said. “But as far as stuff and consistency, it was pretty good.”
Start with a fastball that hovers in the mid-90s, a cutter that resembles a slider and a curveball that fools some hitters into thinking it’s a split-fingered fastball. Making his pitches all the more effective has been Rodriguez’s ability to locate them. He has 15 strikeouts and only one walk in 10 1/3 innings with the Angels, perhaps the biggest reason for his 0.87 ERA.
“His problem has never been his ability to compete; it’s always been his ability to command, and he’s figured that out this year and he’s been on a roll,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.
Rodriguez, 27, said he once celebrated success on the mound demonstratively, just like his namesake who now pitches for the New York Mets. The former Angels closer is known to punctuate saves by pointing skyward with both hands and pounding his chest before kissing one hand and extending it toward the heavens again.
“He has more body language,” the current Angel said. “I was like that before, but I shut it down. I decided to stop being like that — and it works.”
One thing Rodriguez would like to have emulated was the phenom’s path to the major leagues. While one was helping the Angels win a World Series at age 20, the other didn’t even become part of the organization until he was 22.
Rodriguez had spent six years in the Mexican League when the Angels signed him in 2005. Scouts Bobby Magallanes and Jeff Malinoff had traveled to see Rodriguez’s Tigres team play because they were interested in another pitcher.
But the prospect was taken off the roster that day and it was Rodriguez who caught their attention.
“We go, ‘Wow, this guy’s pretty good,’ recalled Magallanes, who now manages the Angels’ double-A Arkansas affiliate. “We happened to sign him and not the other guy.”
Rodriguez got to keep only $53,000 of his $210,000 signing bonus, with the rest going to his Mexican League team. He didn’t care.
“If they didn’t support me to be a professional,” he said, “I’d probably never be here.”
The native of Mexicali spent his first year in the minor leagues learning English. He read newspapers and watched movies he had previously seen in Spanish to sharpen his skills in his new language.
He didn’t need any help with his confidence. When Arkansas needed to win its final game of the season’s first half against Springfield (Mo.) to clinch a playoff berth, Magallanes said, Rodriguez came into the clubhouse and told his teammates, “If you’re scared, get a dog or give me the ball.”
Rodriguez got the ball and helped the Travelers secure a postseason spot.
Some things he can’t do much about. He still gets mail intended for the other Rodriguez and usually gives it to a clubhouse attendant so that it can be forwarded.
Fortunately, Rodriguez no longer has to wonder who’s being addressed when he hears someone say “Frankie.” Not that there’s anyone else who could be mistaken for boosting the Angels’ bullpen as Rodriguez has.
“He’s his own guy,” Shields said. “He doesn’t want to be compared to anybody else, and I think he’s making his own name for Francisco Rodriguez.”
Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
