After sitting down for a half an hour interview with the new manager of the State College Spikes Johnny Rodriguez, one could fill a wall with quotes about baseball and life in general.
The 58-year-old Cuban native, who has coached at all levels of baseball, is a passionate, devout, kind man in every aspect of his life, and he is bringing that passion to the Spikes in his first year as manager with the team.
All Rodriguez does is win. Last season he led the rookie-level Johnson City Cardinals to the 2014 Appalachian League title, a team which included five current members of the Spikes.
He managed then top Cardinals prospects Kolten Wong and the late Oscar Tavares at Quad Cities in 2011 to a championship. He was also a member of the coaching staff during the Florida Marlins 2003 World Series run.
“Baseball has been good to me,” he says when talking about his illustrious career.
His 25 years of experience will serve this year’s edition of the Spikes extremely well. The team is very close, due in part to the fact that there are seven players returning from last season’s Spikes team and five players called up with Rodriguez from Johnson City. When asked to describe the team he sums it up very succinctly by saying “they are grinders.” He jokes that no one on this team is going to wow you, or be flashy but they are going to all live by his mantra: “Be your best when your best is needed.”
This mantra does not just describe the attitude of the players on the field but Rodriguez himself. The players go out and produce the runs, and make the outs, but it is up to the manager and his coaching staff to make sure the team is prepared. “How do you get the edge?” he asks. “You have to be more prepared.”
As part of his preparation, Rodriguez has what he calls his “matrix” on every player his team has ever faced. In an old and overstuffed brown leather brief case, these matrices sit next to him on the bench. He records the outcome of an at-bat on a chart with different symbols to denote the type of play. A hard line drive is a dot, a ground ball is a circle etc., and he color codes them based on his own pitchers. Every pitcher has a color, and he can look down at his matrix and see the entire history of the matchup that is taking place on the field on paper. Based on what he sees he can call the pitches and set up the defenses accordingly.
“I manage the moment, I prepare well … The game talks to me, and I am going to do what the game tells me in that moment,” he says.
Rodriguez is delighted to return to State College after being at the stadium in 2008. “This is the best ball park in all of minor league baseball because it gives the players the best feel to be in the big leagues,” he says boldly. “Bottom line you got fans, and they are passionate.” The attendance this past opening weekend can attest to this claim. The opening night game on June 19 drew a crowd of 5,921 people — the second most ever in Medlar Field.
Aside from the fans, what gives Medlar Field the professional feel is that it is modeled after PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The Spikes, when the team was first created, was a Pirates affiliate, and the stadium was built to the same exact dimensions as the stadium along the river in the Steel City. The only difference is that in Pittsburgh the wall in right field is 21 feet high in honor of Roberto Clemente, but in State College it is 18 feet and 5.5 inches, to recognize the year Penn State was founded.
This is where Rodriguez’s story comes full circle. One of his sons, Sean, is currently playing in his eighth season in the major leagues. He spent the last five years with the Tampa Bay Rays, close to where Johnny was managing in the Florida State League. However, after two years, Johnny Rodriguez was asked to come manage in Johnson City, where he won the title and was then promoted to State College. “Talk about God being in charge of your life,” he says.
And then the miracle happened; Sean was traded by the Rays to the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a result Johnny is now only three hours away from his son. In fact on the day of this interview, Sean made an outstanding diving catch in right field to preserve a 1-0 victory for the Pirates over Cole Hamels and the Phillies. The highlight came on the television above his desk as he was telling the story of his son. There was silence in the room as Johnny had to collect himself after being overwhelmed by emotion and pride.
Johnny Rodriguez is a manager to watch out for. Like his players, his final goal is to make it up to the big leagues. But for now, we will watch him throwing batting practice, working with hitters, joking with the media, carrying his matrices around Medlar Field and coaching to his baseball philosophies. “We don’t control our future; I try to manage that way … Philosophy? I don’t give an edge. I’m going to find your weakness and we are going to use it,” he says.
