Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez is one of the top catchers to ever play in the Major Leagues and helped lead his 2006 Detroit Tigers team to the American League championship and a World Series appearance. The 16-year veteran is a 13-time All-Star who earned his 12th Gold Glove Award in 2006, extending his record for catchers. He was named the 1999 American League Most Valuable Player while playing for the Texas Rangers and has posted a .304 career batting average with 2,354 hits, 473 doubles, 277 home runs and 1,119 RBIs in 2,023 games heading into the 2007 season.
 
Before joining the Tigers in 2004, Rodriguez played one year with the 2003 world champion Florida Marlins, garnering National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player accolades. From 1991-2002, Rodriguez was with Texas, where he made his Major League debut at the age of 19.

In 1993, he started the Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez Foundation with his wife Maribel to assist children with cancer and other diseases, both in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and his native Puerto Rico. In 1998, he donated $25,000 to aid the victims of Hurricane George in Puerto Rico and gave $20,000 in 2001 to those affected by the World Trade Center attacks. In addition, Rodriguez’s foundation donated $48,000 to benefit four families that were relocated to Michigan following Hurricane Katrina. Those are just a sample of his numerous charitable contributions over his career.

Rodriguez is a lifelong Catholic who learned the faith as a youngster growing up in Puerto Rico. He says, “My mom and dad always took us to church every Sunday and taught us how to pray every day, and you have to do it. God is everything and we are nobody. You always have to appreciate it; you always have to say thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ.” Rodriguez is known for making the sign of the cross before every at-bat and every pitch, as well as pointing to the sky when he crosses home plate.

He is the father of three children: Ivan Dereck, Amanda Christine and Ivanna Sofia.