Saul Rodriguez has found a home behind the plate for Waukegan.
The senior catcher wasn’t always comfortable there. But since his sophomore season on the junior varsity team, Rodriguez has overcome physical and mental obstacles to emerge as a stabilizing force for the Bulldogs.
“I’ve definitely come a long way since then,” Rodriguez said. “I played catcher once in a while earlier in my career and was only OK. But with a lot of training, I’ve become one of the team’s key players.”
One of Rodriguez’s key skills is blocking pitches.
“I’ll put Saul behind the plate to block the ball with anyone around,” Waukegan coach Phil Maione said. “He’s a hard worker and a good listener, and he’s undergone a lot of growth in the last year.”
Rodriguez’s development is rooted in the travails he experienced last year. In his first varsity season for the Bulldogs (0-9), Rodriguez often had to catch Anthony Solis, who pitches for Eastern Illinois.
“He went from catching sophomores to catching Anthony,” Maione said. “It was ugly at first, and I didn’t know if it was going to work. But he really progressed.”
Rodriguez spent a lot of time in the cages during the preseason so catching Solis wouldn’t be an entirely new experience. Pitching machines were cranked up higher than 80 miles per hour, and there was a steady diet of sliders and curves.
“It was definitely a rocky start,” Rodriguez said. “One time versus Warren, he threw a curve, and I tried to block it, and I got hit in the forearm. I remember thinking to myself that I don’t want to do this anymore.”
Rodriguez stuck with it, however. One of his best moments with Solis came during the Battle at Bowen matchup against Zion-Benton. Rodriguez kept an errant pitch close enough to the plate and made an on-target toss to Solis to cut down a runner trying to score.
“Catching everyone else compared to him is a breeze,” Rodriguez said. “It definitely gave me a lot of good experience.”
Rodriguez has received reinforcement from Waukegan assistant Mike Rostine, a former college catcher who helped Rodriguez with his stance and blocking in particular.
Rodriguez has also gotten support from his twin sister, Noelani, a successful wrestler who is competing in relays and the long jump for Waukegan’s girls track team. She had been the catcher for Waukegan’s softball team.
“We grew up being competitive and pushed each other and held each other accountable,” Noelani Rodriguez said. “We would practice throw-downs in our backyard and would throw balls at each other to help with blocking.”
Part of the incentive to improve was based on the proximity of their neighbors.
“We had to not miss or we would hit one of the houses,” Noelani Rodriguez said.
Saul Rodriguez said he appreciates his sister’s presence.
“We know when to push each other and know when to stop,” he said. “It helps a lot when you have someone at your skill level, and it’s pretty cool that we communicate so well with each other.”
Rodriguez, who entered the week hitting almost .300, relies on communication with Waukegan’s pitchers too.
“During games, it’s just me and my pitcher,” he said. “And during practice or bullpens, we throw together to see what’s working and what’s not. One of the key things with them is being able to bond with them, and I like to think I’m building their trust.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
