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PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE Thursday, October 29, 1998 'Oversight' will allow Rangers catcher to play winter ball ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez can play winter ball if he wants to because of what a team official called an "oversight." Rangers general manager Doug Melvin said Tuesday that the team did not send Rodriguez's name to Major League Baseball by Sept. 1 to comply with a new rule that would allow them to exempt him from winter ball. The rule allows a team to forbid everyday players from playing during the off-season if they had 520 or more at-bats during the season. Rodriguez had 579 at-bats. Because of what Melvin called an "oversight," the team will have no recourse if Rodriguez decides play again this year. He has just finished the first year of a five-year, $42.5 million contract. "We assumed he would not play," Melvin said. "Sure, maybe we should have sent it in, but he told me he didn't plan to play." Melvin said Rodriguez assured him again Tuesday that he does not plan to play. Rodriguez assured the Rangers he would not play in 1997 after he signed the new contract, but later joined Caguas in the Puerto Rico League for 32 games and the Caribbean World Series. "If I can't play, I can't play," Rodriguez said Tuesday. But he refused to say he wouldn't play. "I don't know what I'm going to do," he said. The Rangers fear Rodriguez could get injured in winter ball as did teammate Juan Gonzalez, who missed the first month of the regular season in 1997 because of a thumb injury. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below: texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local Sports Texas Sports Copyright ©1998, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:

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