He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, and Chicago Cubs.

[1] Born in Caracas, Rodríguez carried a varied repertoire that relied on intelligence over raw explosiveness.

He had a variable-speed fastball (reaching 90 MPH), a slider, a tough curveball, and a circle change-up as his most effective offering.

[2] Once considered one of the best prospects in the Kansas City Athletics minor league system, he also pitched for the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs organizations.

[1] On August 27, he earned his first and only major league victory against the Detroit Tigers, 2–1, allowing four hits to a powerful lineup that included Norm Cash, Bill Freehan, Al Kaline, Dick McAuliffe, Eddie Mathews and Jim Northrup.