Edwin Rodriguez, Florida Marlins: New Icon in Puerto Rico

Edwin Rodriguez is the new icon in Puerto Rico.

It does not matter he was re-signed by the Florida Marlins for only one year.

In his native Puerto Rico, all prayers by most baseball followers are already in his favor he could take the Marlins next season for its first playoff appearance since its 2003 World Championship.

Rodriguez became the first Puerto Rican manager in the major leagues when he took the job on an interim basis on June 23, replacing the fired Fredi Gonzalez.

Later on during its hometown San Juan Series against the New York Mets owner Jeffrey Loria gave him the news that he was his man to finish at the helm for the remainder of the season.

Even though he finished with a personal 46-46 record, nowadays his name is in the company of such local heroes as Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, Jorge Posada and Yadier Molina.

He is as big as such local greats Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar, Edgar Martinez and Bernie Williams

Last week his Florida Marlins shirt used in his first game as skipper was adhered in the baseball aisle of Puerto Rico’s Sports Hall of Fame Museum.

In the ceremony he mentioned he is looking to push his team to win at least 95 games next season.

Rodriguez believes if all pitching and batting goes right, the Marlins truly could be a contender in its East Division and its National League overall.

Rodriguez will really know how good will be his Marlins next April. In the mean time his enjoying his celebrity status specially in his home country.

For those history buffs these are the best of the best of Puerto Rico in history in Major League Baseball.

• Batting Average
  Roberto Clemente              .317
  Edgar Martinez                   .312
  Roberto Alomar                  .300
  Jose Vidro                          .298
  Ivan Rodriguez                   .298
• Hits
  Roberto Clemente              3,000
  Ivan Rodriguez                   2,817
  Roberto Alomar                  2,724
  Orlando Cepeda                 2,351
  Bernie Williams                  2,336
• Doubles
  Ivan Rodriguez                   565
  Edgar Martinez                   514
  Roberto Alomar                  504
  Carlos Delgado                   483
  Bernie Williams                   449
• Triples
  Roberto Clemente              166
  Jose Cruz                           94
  Roberto Alomar                   80
  Dave Martinez                     72
  Carlos Beltran                     67
• Home Runs
  Carlos Delgado                   473
  Juan Gonzalez                    434
  Orlando Cepeda                  379
  Edgar Martinez                    309
  Ruben Sierra                       306
• Runs Batted In
  Carlos Delgado                   1,512
  Juan Gonzalez                    1,404
  Orlando Cepeda                  1,365
  Ruben Sierra                      1,322
  Ivan Rodriguez                   1,313
• Runs Scored
  Roberto Alomar                  1,508
  Roberto Clemente               1,416
  Bernie Williams                   1,366
  Ivan Rodriguez                    1,340
  Carlos Delgado                    1,241
• Total Bases
  Roberto Clemente                 4,492
  Ivan Rodriguez                     4,411
  Roberto Alomar                    4,018
  Carlos Delgado                     3,976
  Orlando Cepeda                    3,959
• Slugging Percentage
  Juan Gonzalez                      .561
  Carlos Delgado                     .546
  Edgar Martinez                     .516
  Orlando Cepeda                    .499
  Danny Tartabull                     .496
• On-Base Percentage
  Edgar Martinez                     .418
  Carlos Delgado                     .383
  Bernie Williams                    .381
  Jorge Posada                       .377
  Roberto Alomar                    .371
• Stolen Bases
  Roberto Alomar                    474
  Julio Cruz                            343
  Jose Cruz                            317
  Carlos Beltran                      289
  Santos Alomar                     227
• Games Played
  Ivan Rodriguez                     2,499
  Roberto Clemente                 2,433
  Roberto Alomar                    2,379
  Jose Cruz, padre                   2,353
  Ruben Sierra                        2,186
• Wins
  John Candelaria                  177
  Javier Vazquez                    152
  Juan Pizarro                        131
  Jaime Navarro                     116
  Joel Piñeiro                          97
• ERA
  John Candelaria                  3.33
  Guillermo Hernandez           3.38
  Juan Pizarro                        3.43
  Roberto Hernandez              3.45
  Eduardo Figueroa                3.51
• Saves
  Roberto Hernandez              326
  Guillermo Hernandez           147
  Edwin Nuñez                        54
  Ramon Hernandez                46
  Luis Arroyo                          44
• Games Pitched
  Roberto Hernandez             1,010
  Guillermo Hernandez             744
  J. C. Romero                        628
  John Candelaria                    600
  Juan Agosto                         543