ARLINGTON, Texas -- There hasn't been any talk yet of retiring his No. 7, but Pudge Rodriguez and the Texas Rangers have talked about a future role in the organization for the now-retired catcher. That could mean working with the club's catchers.
"We've talked to Pudge about continuing a relationship with us and I think there's interest on both sides of him being involved in our organization, so we're excited about that," CEO and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan said. "It would be good for our organization and he wants to stay involved in baseball, so we're looking forward to working something out."
Ryan said Rodriguez wanted to take a few months to get away and spend some time with his family before figuring it all out.
"With the success that he's had and the way he's been received in the community, I think he could be a very positive influence on a lot of our young Latin players that are coming into our system and help them make that transition," Ryan said.
Ryan was asked if Rodriguez was a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
"If I was voting, yeah he would be," Ryan said. "You look at his career and the impact that he's had and the postseason success ... at least how I view the voting, that's the way I see it."