John Rodriguez

Who is John Rodriguez?

John Joseph Rodriguez born January 20, 1978 in New York City, is a retired professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2005-2006. He is generally known more for his hitting than his fielding.

Rodriguez attended Brandeis High School. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 16th Round (425th overall) of the 1995 MLB Draft but did not sign. He signed as an undrafted free agent by the Yankees in 1996. Rodriguez played in the Yankees minor league system for eight seasons before signing with the Cleveland Indians in 2005. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals later that year and forced a major league call-up to replace the injured Reggie Sanders by hitting .342 with 17 home runs in 34 games with Triple-A the Memphis Redbirds. He performed well enough that the Cardinals signed him to a one-year contract following the season. On July 20, 2005, Rodriguez hit his first career home run off Ben Sheets of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Rodriguez got more playing time for the 2006 Cardinals (183 at-bats, 34 more than the year before) and was on the postseason roster, winning a World Series ring when the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series.