California Angels In August 1966, Rodríguez signed with the
California Angels. He was assigned to the
Seattle Angels of the
Pacific Coast League, playing at shortstop and compiling a .254 batting average in 59 at bats during the 1966 season. In 1969, Rodriguez appeared in 159 games at third base and led the league's third basemen with 42
double plays turned and ranked second behind
Brooks Robinson with 352
assists. On the other hand, his batting average was only .232, and he also led the league with 24
errors at third base in 1969. When Rodriguez first signed with the Angels, he spoke no English: "When I came up in '66, I didn't speak English one word. I ate ham and eggs the first 10 days. I go to a restaurant and the lady would ask me what I want. I say ham and eggs . . . breakfast, dinner and supper for 10 days." Rodriguez fell from favor in 1970 under the team's new manager,
Lefty Phillips. In March 1970, Phillips said: "We have tried everything to get Aurelio to choke up on the bat and to spray the ball instead of trying to pull for power but he won't listen or try to correct himself. He just smiles at you, says 'Si, amigo' and then goes back to his old swing. It's very frustrating."
Washington Senators On April 26, 1970, the Angels traded Rodriguez with
Rick Reichardt to the Washington Senators in exchange for power-hitting third baseman
Ken McMullen. Washington manager
Ted Williams said at the time that he hand-picked Reichardt and Rodriguez as players he would like to work with. Rodriguez appeared in 142 games for the Senators in 1970, including 137 games as the team's starting third baseman. During the 1970 season, Rodriguez also established himself as having a solid claim to being the most dominant defensive third baseman in the game. He appeared in 153 combined games at the position (both for the Angels and Senators) and led all major league third basemen in both assists (377) and double plays turned (41). He also reduced his error count to 18 and ranked fourth among all basemen with a .965 fielding percentage—two one-hundredths behind major league leader
Graig Nettles. His 30 total zone runs (a defensive metric utilizing play-by-play data) ranked as the highest in the major leagues at any position—eight zone runs higher than Nettles. Rodriguez was considered "the prize of the deal", a third baseman with "quick reflexes, a fast glove and superb throwing arm." The team's doctor in 1975 declared Rodriguez one of the most perfectly adjusted people he had ever met, adding, "He is a completely happy person." In his first season in Detroit, Rodriguez's batting average improved to .253 (the highest of his major league career to that time), and he led the Tigers in hits (153), doubles (30), and triples (seven). He also continued to hit for power with 15 home runs. During the 1972 season, Rodriguez's batting average dipped to .236, but he had perhaps his finest defensive season and helped lead the Tigers to the American League East championship. He reduced his error count to 16 and ranked first or second among the league's third basemen in virtually every defensive category: 153 games played (first); 150 putouts (first); 348 assists (first); 3.36
range factor per nine innings (first); 33 double plays turned (second); and 12 total zone runs (second).
Brooks Robinson himself reportedly called Rodriguez his equal at third base, praise that he never paid to another player. In 1973, Rodriguez continued to struggle at the plate, as his batting average fell to .222 with nine home runs. On defense, he led the league with 160 games at the third base and a .971 fielding percentage (technically .00002 behind with
Don Money) and ranked among the league's premier players at the position with 135 putouts (second), 30 double plays turned (fourth), and 335 assists (fifth). Rodriguez began the 1974 season saying he was committed to forgetting about home runs and spraying the ball to right and center fields. He hit fewer home runs (five) than any prior full season in his career, but he nevertheless compiled an identical .222 batting average for the second consecutive year. On defense, he led the league in games played at third base (159) for the third consecutive year, and he ranked among the leading third basemen with 389 assists (second), 132 putouts (second), 40 double plays turned (third), 21 errors (third), and a 3.37 range factor per nine innings (fourth). Rodriguez began the 1975 season saying he was no longer listening to people telling him to spray the ball to right field. He recalled the advice of his old manager: "Ted Williams did not tell me to hit the ball to right or to center or to left. He just said hit it hard and not worry about it." On June 19, 1975, Rodriguez hit his first career grand slam against the
Kansas City Royals. In 1976, Rodriguez appeared in the Tigers' first 128 games, but missed the remainder of the season after sustaining an ankle injury sliding into second base on August 29. In the 128 games he played, Rodriguez hit .240 with eight home runs and 50 RBIs. He also ranked second behind Graig Nettles in range factor per nine innings at third base. Injuries continued to slow Rodriguez in 1977. He injured the same ankle sliding into home plate on April 26 and missed five weeks. Even after returning from the injury, Rodriguez shared the third base position with
Phil Mankowski—Rodgriguez started 83 games and Mankowski 78. Rodriguez was unhappy with his new part-time role: "I'm not used to sitting on the bench, watching all nine innings. I finally got the Golden Glove last year, and now I'm not playing. I feel bad about it" Rodriguez was then slowed further when he slipped in a bathtub on July 2 and sustained a hairline rib fracture below his right arm. In 1978, Rodriguez appeared in 131 games at third base, but only 86 as the starter, as he continued to share the third base position with Phil Mankowski. Despite the limited playing time, Rodriguez had the highest full-season batting average of his major league career at .265. making only four errors during the entire season. During the 1970s, Rodriguez had more hits (1,040) than any other Detroit player. He also ranked second in runs (417) and RBIs (423). In late October 1979, the Tigers acquired third baseman
Richie Hebner. Rodriguez, never one to complain previously, could see the writing on the wall, criticized Hebner's defensive abilities, and said publicly that he felt he was being treated unfairly after nine years with the Tigers. On December 7, the same day Rodriguez's criticism was published, the Tigers traded him to the
San Diego Padres in exchange for a player to be named later.
1980–1983 Rodriguez appeared in 89 games for the Padres in 1980, 57 as the team's starting third baseman. His batting average dropped precipitously to .200 in his first season in the
National League. Rodriguez appeared in 52 games for the 1980 Yankees, 43 as the starting third baseman. He was then traded by Toronto in early April to the
Chicago White Sox in exchange for outfielder
Wayne Nordhagen. While initially expecting to be a backup in Chicago, He appeared in 45 games for the Orioles but only 18 as the starting third baseman. His batting average dropped precipitously to .119 in 67 at bats with Baltimore. Three weeks after being released by Baltimore, Rodriguez signed for a second run with the White Sox. He started only six games for Chicago in 1983 and compiled a .200 batting average in 20 at bats. He played in his final major league game on October 1, 1983 at age 35.
Career statistics and legacy In 17 major league seasons, Rodríguez was a .237 hitter with 124 home runs and 648 RBIs in 2,017 games. And his career tally 4,150 assists at third base ranked fifth in major league history at the time of his retirement. Rodriguez is best remembered for his powerful throwing arm. Praise for his ability includes: •
Sparky Anderson was Rodriguez's manager in 1979, his last year in Detroit. "He probably had as good a pair of hands on him as anybody, and a great arm -- the only two arms I've ever seen like that,
Travis Fryman and him. This guy was a great third baseman", Anderson said.
WJR broadcaster
Paul Carey, who during Aurelio's tenure with the Tigers was the radio partner of Hall of Famer
Ernie Harwell, used to refer to Rodriguez' arm as a
howitzer. • In an appearance on the
YES Network by several great third basemen,
George Brett once commented on Rodríguez's arm, saying to all (but particularly to the
Philadelphia Phillies great
Mike Schmidt), "You remember that guy? He would toy with you and pound the ball in his glove and you were still out by 10 feet!" • Every time the Tigers played the Yankees, the late Yankee broadcaster
Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto eventually got a chance to see a Rodriguez throw a "rising" fastball across the infield. "There's that arm", Scooter used to say. "If I had an arm like that...!"
Baseball coach and manager After his playing career ended, Rodriguez worked as a manager, primarily in the
Mexican League, from 1987 to 1997. He began by managing the
Los Mochis club in 1987. Rodriguez returned to the United States in 1989 as assistant coach for the
Colorado Springs Sky Sox, a Triple-A farm team for the
Cleveland Indians. In 1990, he worked for the
Toledo Mud Hens. In 1991, Rodriguez was the manager of the
Sultanes de Monterrey and led the club to the Mexican League championship. He then managed the
Saraperos de Saltillo in 1992 and the
Industriales de Monterrey in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, Rodriguez was the manager of the
Broncos de Reynosa of the Mexican League. He led Reynosa to the North Zone title in 1995. Rodriguez was suspended for the remainder of the 1996 season following an altercation in which he allegedly struck or bumped an umpire in May 1996. Rodriguez returned as manager at Reynosa in 1997, but was replaced after the 1997 season. ==Personal life and death==