Meeting Pudge Rodriguez, 1995, by Mike Orr
From MemoryArchive
Who: Mike Orr What: Meeting Pudge Rodriguez When: Summer 1995 Where: ChicagoWhen I was 12 years old I was on a trip to Chicago with my grandparents. For all of their grandchildren at age 12, they took us on a trip to wherever we chose in the US. I spent several days in Chicago touring Wrigley Field (Cubs were away), visiting the Hancock Center, Wrigley building, visiting museums and achritechtural tour of the city from the Chicago River.
One of the last things we did while in the Windy City was attend a White Sox game at New Comiskey Park (now US Cellular Field) against the Texas Rangers. Early that afternoon my grandfather and I visited the new Nike store in downtown Chicago, truly an amazing place for a 12 year old kid who was obsessed with sports, basketball shoes, and the like. After our visit we grabbed lunch at a McDonald's just around the corner. As we waited in line I spied a familiar looking Latino man sitting with young children in a booth with several Nike Store bags. I did a double-take and thought to myself, 'that's Pudge Rodriguez!' I told my grandfather, who was very skeptical, but I was certain. So I took a receipt from earlier in the day and asked the man if he was in fact Ivan Rodriguez. He was, and he autographed my receipt. I returned to my grandfather with a huge smile, and still have that recepit to this day, 10 years later...
While this is certainly no amazing or important event, the enormity of the situation for a 12 year old sports nut was immeasurable. To meet the starting catcher for the Rangers who was an All-Star game starter and generally accepted as the best catcher in the league, was simply incredible for me back then. Would still be cool today, but at that time was probably the coolest that had ever happened to me.
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