From the PC: A Pudge Double Dip

These are two of my favorite Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez cards from my personal collection. I pulled both of these cards out of packs years ago.

2001 UD Gold Glove Ivan Rodriguez Batting Glove

This is one of my favorite "relic" cards. The picture on the card and the swatch of batting glove match up nicely, which is unusual for any relic card. It's not just a boring old one color swatch and has plenty of stitching.

As of the end of 2009, Pudge has appeared in 2,388 games, 2,288 of them at catcher. His career numbers look like this: 1,308 runs, 2711 hits, 547 doubles, 305 homers, 1,264 rbis, a .299 batting average, and 125 steals.

2000 SP Authentic Ivan Rodriguez Chirography

Nothing beats on-card when it comes to autos. The design of this card isn't great, but having Pudge's auto on-card and in blue ink makes it a nice card.

Pudge signed a two year deal with the Washington Nationals in the off-season. I was disappointed to see him go after his brief return to Texas. He should be able to get close to 3,000 career hits if he can stay healthy and play in a decent number of games. I know I appreciated being able to see him play in person so many times over the years.