Former Major Leaguer in Canadian Semi-Pro League
You may all remember the closer from the Dominican Republic, Fernando Rodney. He had an impressive seventeen-year career in the Bigs but after that, he kept playing, mainly in Mexico. Apparently, the fourty-seven-year old is not tired of baseball as he has landed in Canada, where he has joined the Hamilton Cardinals.
It is not an uncommon thing that former MLB players join the Intercounty Baseball League, but hardly a player with the name and fame of Fernando Rodney is signed.
Rodney is a three-time All-Star (2012, 2014, 2016), with his finest season coming in 2012 when he played for the Tampa Bay Rays. That year, Rodney set a franchise record with 48 saves and posted an extraordinary 0.60 ERA over 74.2 innings pitched, which earned him the AL Comeback Player of the Year.
Hamilton Cardinals owner Eric Spearin stated “Fernando Rodney is a true legend of the game. His career and passion for baseball are unmatched, and we are honored that he has chosen to bring his talent and leadership to the Hamilton Cardinals.”
With the Intercounty Baseball League on its way for a two months now, Rodney has earned four saves, lost one and won one game. His Hamilton Cardinals are sixth place with an 11-12 record.
You can wonder what brings a former MLB player with the fame of Rodney to a semi-pro baseball league. Rodney has won a World Series title in 2019 with the Washington Nationals, earned several personal prices, and after a seventeen-year MLB career and several years in Mexican professional baseball, he doesn’t really need the money. Could one conclude, he is playing for the love of the game? In an interview with MLB.com, Rodney stated: “It’s like something new I want to try,” Rodney said. “I’m still having fun. That’s the best part.”
The Intercounty Baseball League is a league that includes a mix of former Minor League players, a few ex-big leaguers, recent college players and semi-pro players with day jobs. The league also includes Japanese women’s pitcher Ayami Sato, who plays with the Toronto Maple Leafs and who is regarded as one of the best pitchers in women’s baseball.