For the first time ever, a player the Rangers signed, developed and cultivated into a major leaguer, will be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ivan Rodriguez, who signed with the Rangers at 16 and made his major league debut before turning 20, on Wednesday was elected to the Hall in his first year on the ballot. He joins Johnny Bench as the only catchers in baseball history to be elected in the first year of eligibility.
Rodriguez will be joined in the July 29 induction ceremony in Cooperstown by Jeff Bagwell, who spent his entire major league career with Houston, and Tim Raines, an icon of the Montreal Expos.