June 17, 2009: Iván Rodríguez Breaks the Record for Games Caught

June 17, 2009: The Texas Rangers beat their cross-State, then-Interleague rivals, the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. David Murphy singled Ian Kinsler home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

For the Rangers, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Nelson Cruz hit home runs. For the Astros, Hunter Pence went 4-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs, and Carlos Lee also homered.

Iván Rodríguez, a Rangers legend, played for the Astros in this game, going 1-for-5. It was his 2,227th game at the position of catcher, setting a new major league record. He surpassed the total of 2,226 set from 1969 to 1993 by Carlton Fisk. Like Fisk, Rodríguez was nicknamed "Pudge." Unlike Fisk, however -- he was a Boston Red Sock, but not of the 21st Century -- Rodríguez has long been suspected of steroid use.

Fisk actually played longer, 13 seasons to 11, with the Chicago White Sox, who released him the day after his 2,226th game as a catcher. By 1 game, he surpassed the old record, set from 1972 to 1990 by Bob Boone.

Rodríguez reached the postseason with the Rangers in 1996, '98 and '99; in 2003 with the Florida Marlins, winning the World Series; and 2006 with the Detroit Tigers, winning the American League Pennant. He was named the AL's Most Valuable Player in 1999. He finished his career with 2,844 hits, including 311 home runs, 14 All-Star Game berths, 13 Gold Gloves, and 2,427 games as a catcher. Fisk and Boone remain 2nd and 3rd on the all-time list.

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June 17, 2009 was a Wednesday. These other Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Nationals, 3-2 at the new Yankee Stadium. John Lannan outpitched Chien-Ming Wang. Adam Dunn hit a home run. For the Yankees, Robinson Canó and Johnny Damon hit home runs. Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with a walk. Derek Jeter did not play.

* The New York Mets lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Nick Markakis went 4-for-4. Aubrey Huff went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and 3 RBIs. Matt Wieters went 1-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBIs. For the Mets, Gary Sheffield went 2-for-4, including a solo shot for his 507th career home run. He would hit just 2 more.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Florida Marlins, 6-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. David Ortiz went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Scott Richmond struck 11 batters out in 8 innings, outpitching Jamie Moyer. Rod Barajas, Aaron Hill, and, of course, former Phillie Scott Rolen hit home runs for the Jays. Jayson Werth homered for the Phils, but Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley each went 0-for-4, and Ryan Howard went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-8 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. J.J. Hardy hit a sacrifice fly to score Prince Fielder with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Chicago White Sox beat their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Albert Pujols went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Kansas City Royals, 12-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3 at Petco Park in San Diego. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Los Angeles Angels beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

Football was out of season. The NBA Finals ended 3 days earlier, when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in Game 5. The Stanley Cup Finals ended 2 days before that, when the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7.

May 18, 2010: The Most Consecutive Errorless Games By a Catcher

Mike Redmond

May 18, 2010: The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. David Price outpitches David Huff.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, Mike Redmond replaced Lou Marson as the Indians' catcher. He caught the pitches of Rafael Pérez for 4 batters and Jamey Wright for 1. He had 1 fielding chance, failing to throw Ben Zobrist out as he stole 2nd base. But he didn't make an error.

This made it the 253rd consecutive errorless game he had played at the position of catcher. It broke the major league record of 252, held by Mike Matheny from 2002 to 2004.

But, unlike Matheny, Redmond was never a regular catcher. He topped out with 298 plate appearances in the 2007 season, with the Minnesota Twins. Although he had a .287 lifetime batting average, his career backup status left him with career highs of 4 home runs with the 2001 Florida Marlins, and 38 RBIs with the '07 Twins. His streak began on July 22, 2004, but he never caught more than 85 games in a season. He did, however, win a World Series ring as Iván Rodríguez's backup on the 2003 Marlins.

His next appearance came on May 22, 2010, and he made an error, so he only raised the record by 1. He was 39 years old, and, batting .206, he was designated for assignment on July 10, and never played in the major leagues again.

In contrast, Matheny wasn't much of a hitter, batting .239 over a 13-season career, but won 4 Gold Gloves, and helped the St. Louis Cardinals win the 2004 National League Pennant.

Mike Matheny

Like Matheny, Remond became a major league manager, but only lasted 2 1/2 seasons with the Marlins, 2013-15. He later became a coach for the Colorado Rockies. Matheny managed the Cardinals in those seasons, winning the NL Central Division each time, and the NL Pennant in 2013. But, as in 2004, his Cards lost the World Series to the Boston Red Sox.

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May 18, 2010 was a Tuesday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, 7-6 at Yankee Stadium II. The Yankees led 5-1 after 7 innings, as CC Sabathia outpitched Josh Beckett. But Joba Chamberlain allowed 4 runs in the 8th inning, and Mariano Rivera allowed 2 more in the 9th. The Yankees pulled a run back in the bottom of the 9th, and had men on 1st & 3rd with 1 out, but couldn't tie it. Daniel Bard pitched to all of one batter, but was credited with the win.

Kevin Youkilis went 2-for-3 with a home run, 2 walks and 3 RBIs. David Ortiz went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. For the Yankees, Juan Miranda went 2-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs, Robinson Canó went 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs, Derek Jeter went 1-for-4, and Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-4.

* The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Former Yankee Melky Cabrera singled Brent Clevlen home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning, off Jenrry Mejía, after Pedro Feliciano blew a save for Johan Santana.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Zach Duke outpitched Roy Halladay. Ryan Howard went 3-for-4, but the rest of the Phils' lineup only got 3 hits.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Nick Markakis singled Julio Lugo home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. 

* The Florida Marlins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-0 at Sun Life Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 11-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals, 3-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 8-7 at Rangers Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 7-6 at Petco Park in San Diego. The Giants scored 3 runs in the top of the 12th, and the Padres could only pull 2 back.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 7-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-5 at the Oakland Coliseum. Kurt Suzuki went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, including singling Cliff Pennington home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Rajai Davis also went 3-for-5. Ryan Sweeney went 4-for-5. For the M's, Ichiro Suzuki (no relation to Kurt) went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and stolen base.