This April marks a terrible month for baseball fans. First, we lost four-time All-Star and Dodgers legend Davey Lopes on April 8. Then, Angels icon and three-time All-Star Garret Anderson passed away on April 16. Now, the sport has lost another great.

Eliseo “Ellie” Rodríguez died on Thursday, April 23. He was 79 years old. Rodriguez was a great catcher and played in two All-Star games (1969 & 1972). He is most famous for catching a no-hitter for star pitcher Nolan Ryan in 1975.

“The former Puerto Rican Major League catcher Eliseo ‘Ellie’ Rodriguez, who was part of the exclusive group of seven catchers to receive a no-hitter from Nolan Ryan, passed away this Thursday at the age of 79,” ESPN reported.

It’s the end of an era, especially for the baseball catchers. 

Rodríguez was the catcher for Nolan Ryan’s fourth career no-hitter on June 1, 1975, while playing for the California Angels. He notably leaned on Ryan’s curveball and changeup until his fastball began “popping” in the fifth inning. And that’s not all.

Beyond this milestone, Rodríguez set an American League record in 1974 with the Angels for most putouts in a nine-inning game (19) and an extra-inning game (21), both while catching for Nolan Ryan. 

While modern-day sluggers are finding new ways to steal bases, Rodríguez threw out 41.3 percent of the runners who attempted to steal against him!

Rodríguez was just as dominant in his offense.

He batted .245, with 16 home runs in MLB spanning 9 years and 5 teams.

While Ellie Rodríguez spent most of his time with the Brewers, Angels, and Royals, like any budding talent, he always dreamt of playing for the Yankees.

“From about age 12, Eliseo walked to Yankee Stadium with (his older brother) Jimmy to watch Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Elston Howard, and Yogi Berra, who became Rodriguez’s boyhood idol,” Society for American Baseball Research reported.

That dream came true on May 26, 1968, at Yankee Stadium, his MLB debut.

Rodríguez was given a chance when the then-Yankees catcher Frank Fernandez was on weekend military duty. The Yankees won the game, but Rodríguez was underwhelming, going 0-for-3 despite throwing out Ken Berry trying to steal. That was his only season with the New York Yankees, following which the Kansas City Royals drafted him as the 13th pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft in October.

In his first season with the Royals, he became an All-Star. The other one came with the Milwaukee Brewers.

In 1976, he was traded from the Angels to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he started 21 games before being released at age 30. While his MLB career ended there, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates to play in Triple-A in 1977. From 1978 to 1982, he became a player and manager in the Mexican League.

After that, he remained active as a manager, scout, and coach, primarily focusing on player development in Latin America.

With Rodríguez’s passing, an era of dominance behind the plate comes to an end.

Ellie Rodríguez’s legacy was unlike anyone else’s

Rodríguez played great in the major leagues, but his time in Puerto Rico is even more amazing.

He was one of only three catchers to play there for 20 years. He was also one of just five catchers to get more than 500 hits in that league.

Rodríguez’s “backward home run” shows what a big deal he was.

In 1977, in a game against the Indios de Mayaguez, Rodriguez hit a home run, but to everyone’s surprise, he rounded the bases backward. While the umpire recorded the run, he was ejected from the game. Why did he do it?

Fans were booing him loudly. To get back at the mean crowd, he decided to run the bases in reverse. It was both a funny and bold move.

Another surprising fact about Rodríguez was his boxing career.

Before baseball, Rodríguez was keen on boxing, which he took up after getting bullied.

“One time I got out of school and these guys started pushing me around,” he recalled.

At the age of 16, Rodríguez entered the New York Daily News Golden Gloves competition as a novice 165-pound middleweight and won two bouts.

However, after an injury to his right hand, he took up baseball as his primary sport.

The entire sports world has lost a true legend in Eliseo “Ellie” Rodríguez. He leaves behind a one-of-a-kind story filled with amazing talent, toughness, and a fun, rebellious spirit.

RIP.