Former MLB catcher who holds special distinction with Royals dies at age 79
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ellie Rodríguez died at age 79 and held a special distinction with the Royals.
- Rodríguez became the Kansas City Royals’ first All-Star in 1969.
- Rodríguez caught Nolan Ryan’s fourth career no-hitter on June 1, 1975.
Kansas City baseball fans of a certain age can remember when the Athletics served as a de facto farm team to the New York Yankees.
Roger Maris, Ralph Terry and Clete Boyer were among those who went from Kansas City to the Big Apple. Ditto for catcher Ellie Rodríguez, but he returned to KC when the Royals selected him in the 1968 expansion draft.
Rodríguez, who died last week at the age of 79, holds a special distinction in Royals history as the franchise’s first All-Star.
When he joined the Royals, Rodríguez was one of seven catchers in the running for the starting job. By June, Rodriguez had the starting job with Buck Martinez serving as a backup.
“Everyone has had a chance at the job,” Royals manager Joe Gordon told The Star in June 1969. “Rodríguez has done the best work so I’m going to go with him.”
Eliseo “Ellie” Rodríguez was born May 24, 1946, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Rodríguez’s family moved to New York City in 1953, a SABR biography noted. In addition to baseball, he was a boxer and competed in the Golden Gloves. The Athletics signed Rodriguez to a minor-league deal in 1964 and later that year he went to the Yankees.
After batting .208 with the Yankees in 1968, Rodríguez appeared in 95 games with the Royals the following year with 10 doubles, two homers and 20 RBIs. Known for his defense, Rodríguez threw out 24 of 53 baserunners.
That summer, Rodríguez was chosen as a reserve for the All-Star Game. That not only made Rodríguez the first All-Star in Royals franchise history, but he also was the first Puerto Rican catcher to make the Mid-Summer Classic, according to the LBPRC X account.
“This is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me,” Rodríguez told The Star after being selected to the All-Star Game. “It’s great, simply great.”
Unfortunately, Rodríguez did not play in the game.
But things looked good for him the following season. Charlie Metro replaced Gordon as Royals manager in 1970 and Rodríguez was his man behind the dish.
“He may even catch some doubleheaders,” Metro told reporters, per a SABR biography. “I definitely believe in one guy doing the catching.”
But two months into the season, Metro was replaced by Bob Lemon, who went back to a platoon with Rodríguez. Following the season, the Royals traded Rodríguez to the Brewers. He had his best success in Milwaukee, where he batted .255 with 134 walks and 122 strikeouts in three seasons. Rodríguez was an All-Star Game selection in 1972.
Rodríguez played for the Angels for two seasons and finished his MLB career with the Dodgers in 1976. Rodríguez caught the fourth of Nolan Ryan’s seven career no-hitters on June 1, 1975.
“It took him a very long time to warm up,” he told Sports Illustrated during an interview with the seven catchers who caught Ryan’s no-hitters, per ESPN Deportes. “At first, he was throwing around 86 miles per hour. But he had a good changeup and a good curveball. Then, in the fifth inning, his fastball started coming out with real zip.”
“He only shook off a couple of signs in that game,” Rodríguez added. “One of them was on the final pitch of the game, with the count at 2-2 against Bobby Grich. I called for a fastball, but he waved me out to the mound to tell me he wanted to throw his changeup; that’s how we got Grich looking. I had the ball in my hand and said to Nolan, ‘I’ve got the ball, and I’m not giving it to you.’ But in the end, I gave it to him.”
This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 10:53 AM.
