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Thursday, July 31, 1997

Fans anxiously await word of Pudge's fate

By CHRIS NEWTON / Associated Press Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Sometime before midnight Thursday, the Texas Rangers will have either sent Ivan Rodriguez packing or resigned themselves to the possibility of losing the six-time all star to free agency.

Either way, the decision will be all business.

To many of the Rangers' fans, however, the issue of whether the gritty superstar they know simply as "Pudge" stays or goes is largely emotional.

"All you have to do is look at all the 'We love Pudge' signs out here every game to know things will be different if he leaves," said Madge Miller of Flower Mound.

"We want him to stay ... not because we give him the money he wants, but because he loves playing for us as much as we love cheering for him."

Rodriguez is eligible for free agency after this season and has been unable to reach a contract agreement with the Rangers.

Last week, he rejected a five-year, $38 million offer from the team, and it appears he is determined to test his value on the market. If the Rangers hope to get anything but a draft pick for him, they'll likely have to trade him by Thursday night.

Rodriguez is only 25 but already has five Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards to help support claims that he is the best catcher since Johnny Bench.

His determined, consistent play and his thrilling knack for throwing out runners have made him an absolute fan favorite at The Ballpark.

News that he might have played his last game here - the Rangers don't return until Friday - has many fans longing for the days when players and teams were more loyal to each other.

"How can you really enjoy following a team when every other season there is a whole set of different players," said Steve Boyd of Dallas, who has followed the Rangers for 11 years.

"One day baseball is really going to suffer for this kind of thing. The fans have been loyal to Pudge for years and now his attitude is 'business is business.' "

Posted outside The Ballpark are "Power to the Pudge" signs meant to send a clear message to management that the town wants Rodrigueuz to stay.

Drive around Arlington and you'll see enough "Sign Pudge" bumper stickers to think the catcher could be elected mayor.

Nine-year-old Cort Farmer, a catcher for his Little League team in Sunnyvale, grew up idolizing Rodriguez and has learned to mimic his every move. His mother says he wants anything bearing Rodriguez's name, number or picture.

The last few days, thick with rumors of Rodriguez's departure, have not been good ones for Cort.

"I don't want him to go," the boy said. "It just doesn't seem fair ... He's my favorite."

The fact that Rodriguez was brought up in the Rangers' farm system and played his whole career here also makes him special to fans who have set Texas attendance records the past few seasons.

"He has transcended just being a player that people like because he's good - he's like the centerpiece for the team," said devoted Rangers fan Steve Smith of Duncanville.

But Smith said he believes Pudge is as good as gone - local hero or not - and the Rangers could feel the fan backlash well after the catcher is gone.

"This attitude that it's just business could really hurt baseball ... it makes you feel like not rooting for these guys anymore," Smith said. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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