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Pudge Rodriguez in 1996
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Former catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez was recently elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame & rightfully so. He had a total Wins Above Replacement [WAR] of 68.9, with his highest single-season WAR coming in his Most Valuable Player Award Winning Season of 1999, where he barely beat out Red Sox stars Pedro Martinez & Nomar Garciaparra in the voting process. Pudge Rodriguez could run, field, hit & of course throw, despite his large size [5 foot 9 217 pounds] & the fact that he was a catcher [who, historically speaking, are not the fastest guys on the field] he could run the bases efficiently with good foot speed. He had the best throwing arm of any catcher I have ever seen in my life. He threw out 786 baserunners & that is excluding the 88 men he threw out from his knees behind home plate. So, in total he threw out 874 baserunners!
Oh & did I mention he could block home plate better than anyone in the history of the game?
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