Fernando Rodney Exits Twins Game Early To Become A Naturalized Citizen
Veteran Minnesota Twins pitcher Fernando Rodney’s last game against the Tampa Bay Rays was particularly interesting, as he ended up pitching in the fifth inning despite his usual closer role, then leaving midway through the game so that he could become a naturalized U.S. citizen.
As recapped by TMZ, Rodney was scheduled to play for the Twins on Sunday despite having an immigration hearing the next morning in Miami. On Sunday, the Twins were hosting the Rays at Target Field in Minneapolis, and with the 41-year-old Rodney’s flight to Miami in mind, Twins manager Paul Molitor made the decision to bring in his usual closer in the fifth inning.
In a separate report, 1500 ESPN Twin Cities detailed Molitor’s thought process when he asked Fernando Rodney to enter the game as a middle reliever, despite the fact that he’s mostly been used as a closer for the past decade. At the time Rodney entered, Tampa Bay had runners on second and third base, and Molitor had a full bullpen of relievers to choose from.
“To be honest with you, it wasn’t about being overly strategic,” Molitor said.
“It wasn’t something that we really talked about before the game, but he needs to be in Miami for an immigration hearing tomorrow morning. He had a flight that he had to catch and all that kind of stuff so we had postponed it a couple of times, trying to get it a time that was more feasible, but it turned out tomorrow was the only day and so [we] got him in the game a little earlier.”
#mntwins closer Fernando Rodney works early, then flies to Miami to become a U.S. citizen. https://t.co/uw5TQ2QDhN
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) July 16, 2018
Playing in two-thirds of an inning, Fernando Rodney struck out Carlos Gomez and forced Malex Smith to ground out, and was off to the airport at around 3:30 p.m., just about two hours after the game kicked off. According to TMZ, all had gone well on Monday morning, as Rodney’s immigration hearing went as scheduled without any hitches.
Prior to Sunday’s game, it had been 13 years since Fernando Rodney had last pitched in the fifth inning of an MLB game. According to 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, Rodney, who was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, came in for Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Nate Robertson and pitched the fourth through sixth innings in that game. It was three years later, during the 2008 MLB season, when Rodney was first used extensively as a closer, and since then, he’s played in three All-Star Games in that role, with his most recent appearance coming in the 2016 season.
