Rodolfo M. Árias (born June 25, 1957) is a Cuban former

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

and former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He served as the

bullpen catcher The bullpen catcher is a member of a baseball team's staff, often a former professional player, who catches the ball for relief pitchers warming up before entering a game and starting pitchers before games. A bullpen catcher differentiates from a ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. He has also served in this capacity for the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. His father is Rudy Árias.

Biography

Born in

Santa Clara, Cuba Santa Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara. It is centrally located in the province and Cuba. Santa Clara is the fifth-most populous Cuban city, with a population of nearly 245,959. History Santa Clara was founde ...

, Árias attended

Miami Senior High School Miami Senior High School, also known as Miami High School, is a public high school located at 2450 SW 1st Street in Miami, Florida, and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Founded in 1903, it is one of the oldest high schools in Miam ...

. He played

for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

organization. Árias played for the

Bellingham Mariners The Bellingham Mariners were a Minor League Baseball team in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, based in Bellingham, Washington. The club served as the Seattle Mariners' short-season affiliate from 1977 to 1994. History Major League Ba ...

of the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

in 1977, where he was named the league's defensive player of the month for July, and was named to the All-Star team. However, he had a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of only .225. Árias played for the Stockton Mariners of the Class A

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

in 1978. After a strong start, Árias missed time due to a broken jaw suffered when he was hit in the face with a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

. In 1979, he played for the Alexandria Mariners of the Class A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, the San Jose Missions, and Santa Clara Padres, both in the California League. He retired as a player following the season. Árias served as the

for the

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in the mid-1990s and the

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

(AL), serving with the team during the

1996 World Series The 1996 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1996 Major League Baseball season, 1996 season. The 92nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (bas ...

championship. Árias was a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an sportsperson, athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a Strike action, strike or Lockout (industry), lockout, serving as a strikebre ...

for the Yankees during the

1994–95 Major League Baseball strike The 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike was the eighth and longest work stoppage in Major League Baseball (MLB) history, as well as the fourth in-season work stoppage in 22 years. The strike began on August 12, 1994, and resulted in the remai ...

. Árias then worked for the

of the AL as their bullpen catcher from 1997 through 2007. He coached the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...

, then of the Northern League from 2008 through 2010. He left the Goldeyes to return to the Orioles as their bullpen catcher in 2011. He served as the Orioles' bullpen catcher through the 2015 season. He was inducted into the

Hall of Fame in April 2012.

Personal

His family fled Cuba in 1962. His father is Rudy Árias, who pitched for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. His son, Alex Árias, played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. Arias became a citizen of the United States in March 2012.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arias, Rudy 1957 births Living people Sports coaches from Miami Baseball players from Miami Baseball catchers Bellingham Mariners players Cuban emigrants to the United States Stockton Mariners players Alexandria Mariners players San Jose Missions players Santa Clara Padres players Baltimore Orioles coaches Florida Marlins coaches New York Yankees coaches Major League Baseball bullpen catchers Major League Baseball replacement players Miami Dade Sharks baseball players Baseball players from Santa Clara, Cuba Naturalized citizens of the United States Miami Senior High School alumni