Subj : Aurelio Rodriguez
To   : All
From : Steve Quarrella
Date : Thu Sep 28 2000 03:10 am

Don't know if anybody here would even remember him, but he was quite a fan 
favourite in Detroit when I was growing up in the 70s.

http://www.detroitnews.com/2000/tigers/0009/28/c01-124378.htm

Ex-Tiger kept local Latino ties
Aurelio Rodriguez dies in southwest Detroit accident

By Maureen Feighan / The Detroit News

    DETROIT -- Retired Tiger third baseman Aurelio Rodriguez, whose roots still 
ran deep in southwest Detroit's Latino community, was struck and killed by a 
car Saturday.
   Rodriguez, 52, had just left the El Rancho restaurant with two companions 
when a car driven by a woman, who police believe may have had a seizure, jumped 
the curb at the corner of Calvary and West Vernor and struck Rodriguez.
   The accident threw Rodriguez into the air and pinned him under a nearby 
Subaru. Bystanders moved the car and Rodriguez was taken to Henry Ford Medical 
Center, where he was pronounced dead.
   "Everybody really loved him," said state Rep. Belda Garza, D-Detroit, who 
was shopping at a nearby grocery store when the accident occurred. "He was 
looked up to as a role model."
   One of Rodriguez's companions, an unidentified woman, was in serious 
condition at Detroit Receiving Hospital; the second companion, a male, was 
uninjured. The unidentified driver who hit Rodriguez was hospitalized in 
serious condition.
   Rodriguez lived in Mexico, but frequently visited friends in Detroit. He was 
in town Saturday to sign autographs at the Gibralter Trade Center.
   Alfonso Avila, whose family owns El Rancho, said the modest Rodriguez was 
known throughout Detroit's Latino community as a celebrity.
   "People would stop him all the time and say 'How ya doing?' " Avila said. 
"He was a celebrity in southwest Detroit."
   Rodriguez played 17 years in the majors, starting in 1967. He was acquired 
by the Tigers in 1971. After his stint with the Tigers ended in 1979, Rodriguez 
played for the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles before 
ending his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1983.
   A favorite among the Tiger fans, Rodriguez hit .237 in his career, and never 
hit better than .253 in a complete season, but was known as an outstanding 
fielder. He won the Gold Glove -- symbolizing the best fielder at his position 
-- in 1976.
   "Everybody in the organization is shocked and very saddened by the news," 
said Tiger spokesman Tyler Barnes. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his 
family."

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 * Origin: Il Vaticano * Lewisville, TX  (1:393/9005.13)

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