Héctor Antonio Rodríguez Ordeñana (June 13, 1920 – September 1, 2003) was a Cuban Major League Baseball third baseman for one season () with the Chicago White Sox.
A native of Alquízar, Cuba, Rodríguez played in the Negro leagues with the New York Cubans in and , and in the Mexican League, in – prior to the integration of organized baseball.
Professional career
Before the season, Rodríguez was acquired by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Tuneros de San Luis Potosí of the Mexican League. He was assigned to Brooklyn's farm club, the Montreal Royals, where he batted .302. On December 6 of that same year he was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox for first baseman Rocky Nelson.
Rodríguez was Chicago's regular third baseman during the 1952 season. He appeared in 124 games for the 81–73 White Sox and hit .265 with 1 home run and 40 runs batted in. He drew 47 walks and was hit by a pitch 3 times, raising his on-base percentage to .346. He stole 7 bases, scored 55 runs, and struck out just 22 times in 407 at bats, making him the seventh-toughest to strike out in the American League (once per every 18.5 at bats).
Defensively, his .959 fielding percentage was just above the league average for third basemen. Rodríguez went back to the minor leagues in 1953, and on October 8 of that year was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League for pitcher Don Johnson.
Rodríguez died at the age of 83 in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
See also
List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball
References Riley, James A. (2002). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. 2nd edition. New York: Carroll & Graf Publ. .
External links and Seamheads Retrosheet