As of Sunday afternoon, Ivan Rodriguez will be a permanent member of baseball’s most exclusive club.
Not only is the former Texas Rangers star going into the National Baseball Hall of Fame — along with Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Bud Selig and John Schuerholz — he was elected for enshrinement in his first year on the ballot.
That is an honor reserved for the best of the best, the no-doubters, even though there was enough doubt among voters for Rodriguez to just barely become the 52nd member of the first-ballot club.
The other 167 players in the Hall had to wait at least one more year.