MLB Hall of Fame inductions will be taking place on Jan. 23, 2024, and a former Los Angeles Angels' closer has made his way on the 2024 ballot.
For the second year in a row, Francisco Rodriguez's name has made his way onto the ballot. After receiving 10.8% of votes last year, he is back on the ballot once again.
Rodriguez is one of 26 names on this year's ballot in a class that is loaded with many former baseball legends such as Alex Rodriguez, Todd Helton, Manny Ramirez, Adrián Beltré, Billy Wagner and Andruw Jones, Francisco Rodriguez is one of two relief pitchers on this year's ballot.
Rodriguez, also known as K-Rod, was a legend when he was with the Angels as he was a postseason hero in 2002 when they won the World Series.
He earned the nickname K-Rod when he struck out 13 batters in that World Series against the San Francisco Giants.
During his time with the Angels, he was a three-time All-Star, a two-time Reliever of the Year winner and a three-time American League saves leader in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
In 2008, Rodriguez caught the league by storm when he broke the single-season saves record by earning 62 in a season, putting him on the list of all-time great closers.
After his time with the Angels, Rodriguez spent the rest of his career playing with four different teams as he signed with the New York Mets in 2009 for a record-breaking three-year contract for $37 million which made him one of the highest-paid closers at the time.
After playing in New York, Rodriguez would go on and spend the rest of his career playing with the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers.
Rodriguez had two stints with the Brewers, from 2011 to 2013. He then re-signed with the Brewers in 2014 and stayed there until 2016, before playing with the Tigers for the last two years of his career.
While playing in Milwaukee, he only reached the postseason once in 2013 when the Brewers reached the NLCS only to be eliminated by the St. Louis Cardinals.
At the end of his career, Rodriguez finished with a 2.86 ERA and a total of 437 saves, ranking fourth among all relievers all time.
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