About Francisco Rodríguez (Venezuelan pitcher)
Francisco José Rodríguez Sr. (born January 7, 1982), nicknamed "K-Rod", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Anaheim Angels / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers. He is the pitching coach for the Senadores de Caracas of the Venezuelan Major League. Rodriguez pitched for the Angels from 2002 to 2008, and the Mets from 2009 to midway through the 2011 season. He served as the closer for both teams. Rodriguez then pitched for the Brewers until July 2013, mostly in a setup role, and for the Orioles for the rest of 2013 before returning to the Brewers for 2014 and 2015, this time as the team's closer. He was then traded to the Detroit Tigers in 2016, and became the Tigers' closer. In his rookie season, Rodríguez tied Randy Johnson for the record for most victories in a single postseason, recording five wins en route to the Angels winning the World Series; Stephen Strasburg (2019) and Nathan Eovaldi (2023) later accomplished this feat as well. Rodríguez holds the major league record for saves in a single season, with 62, set in 2008 while pitching for the Angels. He is a three-time league leader in saves (2005, 2006, and 2008) and a six-time All-Star. Rodríguez is one of only eight Major League pitchers to accumulate a total of 400 or more saves in his baseball career. He emerged as a postseason relief hero, winning five postseason games despite never having won a Major League game before. The Angels won the division series against the Yankees in 4 games.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.