Growing up on his family’s farm in the Dominican Republic, Richard Rodriguez would wake up at 6 a.m. to feed the cows, move the animals between pastures or tend to other chores. Then, he’d head to school, eat a meal and, in the late afternoon, rush to the ballfield for practice. Even after Rodriguez signed a contract with the Houston Astros in 2010, whenever he was home, he’d work in the fields. On his family farm, he said, that’s just what you do.
Throughout his baseball career, Rodriguez, a right-handed reliever, has taken his farmhand mentality with him.