Ivan Rodriguez has had a great career. He won an MVP award with Texas in the '90s, has 13 Gold Gloves and an impeccable reputation as a defensive catcher. He's caught more games than anyone in baseball history, and his presence on the 2003 Florida Marlins was widely cited as an intangible reason for their improbable run to the World Series. There have been some loose ties to PEDs that come along with being in the Texas Rangers' clubhouse in the 1990s and that might affect Hall of Fame voting for him, but it's way too early to tell with something like that. Pudge, however, has decided that all of this isn't enough and he'd like to stick around for a few more years until he reaches 3,000 hits. He's only about 350 hits away, but at the pace he's currently going, he might have to start and play regularly for three years after this one to reach his goal.
The problem, for anyone that's been watching, is that Pudge is slowly becoming more and more painful to watch at the plate. This year, even after switching from the AL to the NL Central, Rodriguez is hitting a paltry .248/.280/.394. He's never been a prolific walker and as his batting average drops, so does all of his productivity. If he keeps going on this steep decline, it might take more than three years for him to rack up the hits he's looking for.
Even with his reputation as a great defensive catcher, it will be hard for Rodriguez to find work after this year. He didn't sign with Houston until March 20, and while some of that had to do with the WBC, he's not exactly making a great case for himself down the line when this one-year deal expires.
It's great that Rodriguez has a goal in mind to keep playing towards, but there's nothing sadder than watching a once-great player well past his prime hang on for a milestone. I hope that doesn't happen here.
