But that should change next season when Rodriguez, who retired after the 2011 season, joins outfielders Manny Ramirez and Vladimir Guerrero as prominent first-timers for the 2017 election. He could be the second player ever -- after Nolan Ryan in 1999 -- to go into the Hall of Fame as a Ranger.
"I think he should be a first-ballot guy," former Rangers outfielder Rusty Greer said. "If you look at the body of work over the amount of years that he put in at the catching position, that in itself is a first-ballot guy. He is quite possibly the best catcher ever, or one of the top two or three.