Miami Marlins All-Time Top 30, No. 29: Ivan Rodriguez

In honor of the 30th season of Miami Marlins baseball, I’ll be counting down the Top 30 players in team history. This week, at No. 29, catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

This week on the all-time Miami Marlins Top 30 countdown? Ivan Rodriguez, aka Pudge.

I promise you, Miami Marlins fans, I’m not intentionally trolling you with this list.

Last week, fan favorite and postseason hero Livan Hernandez debuted at No. 30 on my all-time Marlins Top 30, a season-long process of ranking the 30 best players in franchise history in honor of their 30th anniversary season. This week, another beloved playoff hero. It is a tricky balance. Should it be all about WAR? Is it all about championships? Is it about overall greatness, or just what they did in a Marlins uniform?

Well, you can probably guess the answer to that last question based on the ranking. This list only considers Marlins WAR, not their career total. Otherwise, Ivan Rodriguez would be in the Top 5, with Mike Piazza right behind him. I will be awarding extra credit for winning a championship, as well as major awards. Then, and only then, will there be a little input from what essentially passes for “the eye test.” Does the list feel wrong without them? Even with just a single season in a Marlins uniform to his credit, that is definitely the case with Pudge.

So, Ivan Rodriguez. Best catcher of my generation? Without question. Best catcher ever? You can certainly make the argument. Best catcher in Miami Marlins history? Stay tuned on that score.

However, what is undeniable is that when it comes to best free agent signing in Marlins history, Rodriguez is in a league of his own.

Signed very late in the offseason for a player of his caliber, the Marlins famously found “special money” to ink the future Hall of Famer to a one-year, $10 million contract heading into the 2003 season. Pick your cliché of being the missing the piece, putting them over the hump, or helping the pitching staff take that next leap. That’s why Rodriguez was brought in … and he promptly proceeded to do every single one of those things.

Somehow, Rodriguez’s 2003 season was one of only two seasons from 1992 to 2007 where he failed to gain an All-Star nod, despite being a season strong enough to see him earn league MVP consideration. He was absolutely the best Marlin that season, at least in terms of WAR, separating from the handful of other one-year Marlins wonders. Even in what was apparently a down year by Pudge standards, he went .297/.369/.474 at the plate with 16 home runs and 85 RBI.

Bottom-line, Miami doesn’t make the playoffs without him.

Oh, and about those playoffs. Rodriguez was incredible that postseason. He had 22 hits, hitting safely in 16 of 17 games during that magical championship run. The one game he didn’t get a hit in, he still knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly. And that’s just what he contributed offensively. Who could forget that play at the plate in Game 4 of the 2003 NLDS, when Pudge held on to Jeff Conine’s throw from left field to tag J.T. Snow for the final out of the series? How about picking Nick Johnson off third base in the World Series?

Rodriguez was worth every penny the Miami Marlins spent on him and, ultimately, there is only thing more certain than his being one of the best players in franchise history.

If the Marlins had been smart enough to dig deep and resign him the following offseason, he would be considerably higher on this list.