Baseball's Most Exciting Games, No. 8: They Called Him Pudge

Game 3, 2003 National League Division Series: San Francisco Giants at Florida Marlins

October 3, 2003, Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida

Series tied 1-1

How Game 4 ended. Who looks like
they're in more pain here? The catcher
or the runner?

If you're familiar with this series, it's because you know how it ended: With San Francisco's J.T. Snow plowing into Florida's Ivan Rodriguez at the plate, hoping to knock the ball out of Rodriguez's glove to tie Game 4 in the bottom of the 9th. Rather than drop the ball, Rodriguez held on, giving the Marlins the series win. After being mobbed by teammates, Rodriguez escaped from the pile and held the ball aloft in his bare had, showing the world that it was still there. It was the iconic moment of a Hall-of-Fame career.

It was, of course, a little strange that his iconic moment came as a member of the Marlins. In 2003, after more than a decade with the Texas Rangers, the man called Pudge had done everything you could ask for. He was best fielding catcher of his generation, possibly of all time, and he was a consistent .300 hitter with good power. He had even won a league MVP award. The only thing man called he hadn't done with the Rangers was win in the playoffs. For all his brilliance, the Rangers only went to the postseason three times during Rodriguez's time there, only winning one game on those series. He was a great player who didn't get a chance to shine on the biggest stage.

Rodriguez's time with the Rangers ended unceremoniously, with Texas simply letting him walk without even offering him arbitration. A free agent for the first time, Rodriguez surprised a lot of people around baseball by signing a one-year deal with the young Florida Marlins. Not usually known for spending big bucks on free agents, the Marlins gave Rodriguez a one-year, $10 million deal, paying more than double what they paid anybody else on the roster. The hope was the Marlins could use Rodriguez's veteran experience to help their young future stars develop more, while Rodriguez could use his one-year contract to prove to the rest of baseball that he still had it.

Whether because of the presence of Rodriguez or because their younger players were ready to take the leap, the Marlins surprised everybody by making the playoffs in 2003. Their reward for earning just their second playoff berth ever was a first-round date with the defending National League champion Giants. After a split of the first two games in San Francisco, the Marlins came home to a rare sellout crowd for Game 3.

And that's when Pudge started building his legend. 

It started with a one-out double by Luis Castillo in the bottom of the first. After fouling off a couple of pitches, Rodriguez got an inside fastball and drilled it into the left field seats for his first postseason home run. The ecstatic Marlins leapt out of the dugout to meet Rodriguez, and he had to make it through a gauntlet of teammates just to put his catcher's gear back on. 

A 2-0 lead in the 1st inning isn't normally a big deal, especially with one of the best hitters of all time in the other dugout, but the Marlins made it last until the 6th inning. The Giants loaded the bases with one out against Marlins starter Mark Redman. Redman induced a ground ball from Jose Cruz, but Cruz beat the relay to first to prevent the double play and allow the Giants' first run to score. One batter later, the Giants tied the game, and the Marlins were left to rue the double play that wasn't turned.

From there, it was a contest to see who could leave the most runners on base, and in that regard, the Giants won. San Francisco left nine runners on base between the 6th and 10th innings without scoring a run. The Marlins left "only" seven on in that time, but that included the three left on base in the bottom of the 10th when pinch-hitter Lenny Harris popped out to third.

Finally, in the 11th inning, the Giants broke through, putting runners on the corners with nobody out thanks to a botched double play ground. After a sacrifice fly, they were ahead 3-2. But they weren't done, loading the bases for Cruz with still only one out. But Cruz grounded to the pitcher and Snow grounded to second to end the threat.

So now it was the bottom of the 11th, and it was Florida's last chance to rally. And their last chance started strangely, with Jeff Conine lifting a lazy flyball to right that Cruz just flat-out dropped. Nothing tricky about it - just a Major League outfielder dropping a fly ball. After a walk, Miguel Cabrera - yes, the one who is still playing, the one who will get his 3,000th career hit this season - dropped down a bunt to move the runners over. After an intentional walk, Luis Castillo grounded to reliever Tim Worrell. Worrell fell to the ground while trying to field it, but somehow grabbed it with his bare hand and got the throw home in time for the second out

How Game 3 ended. A much less
painful way to win a game.

So it was up to Pudge. Down by 1, two outs in the 9th. Pudge wanted to be batting in this situation, and the Marlins wanted him to be batting. He was the reason they had gotten this far in the first place. So his single to right seemed preordained. Two runs scored, and Marlins went crazy, and Rodriguez celebrated the greatest moment of his career.

A moment that ranked as number 1 for less than 24 hours.

Rodriguez only played one season for the Marlins, but they made it count, riding his leadership all the way to the World Series championship. It was the only title of Rodriguez's career. While he went into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Rangers, it was that World Series run - specifically his two game-saving moments against the Giants - that will be his biggest legacy.

Game 3, 2003 National League Division Series Overall Rank: 8 Top 10 Swing: 225 Top play: Ivan Rodriguez's game-winning single (WPA of 73% for Florida) Loser's largest WE: 90 T11, 1 out, bases loaded, San Francisco up 3-2, Jose Cruz batting Average LI: 1.99 Highest leverage moment: 10.84 (Rodriguez's at bat in the bottom of the 11th)