Since graduating from Key West High in 2009, Andrew Rodriguez has been on the move. Why? At each juncture, he says, he has seen opportunity.
He played a few years of Conch basketball, but was an outstanding baseball outfielder for four years. As a sophomore, the national scouting service Perfect Game graded him as, “Small lean frame. Good, smooth fundamental swing, hits out front, squares up well to all fields, knows how to hit, just lacks strength. Clean outfield actions, gets rid of ball quickly. Very good student.”
Why baseball over other sports? “Passion,” Rodriguez says simply. And, unlike many others, his baseball career didn’t end at Rex Weech Field.
As a good-hitting left-handed batter and outfielder, he headed to St. Thomas University, where his fellow Conch, Danny DiFabio, played. “He truly believed in me,” recalled Rodriguez. “He saw something in me.” Rodriguez says he was one of two freshmen, the other a catcher, who started.
But Rodriguez moved on after a year. “It was expensive, too expensive,” he said. “Despite being on scholarship.” So he headed to Miami Dade, completing his sophomore season at the junior college that, like St. Thomas, is known for its baseball teams.
“I played with several future major leaguers at Miami Dade,” he told me as we ate dinner recently. “Brian Goodwin, a Chicago White Sox outfielder; Derrick Law, a pitcher with the Minnesota Twins; and Jharel Cotton, who pitched for Texas. My coach was Danny Price, who had been the head coach at Florida International for 28 years. He was awesome. I played very well there. I was first-team all-conference, an All-American nominee.”
But after one year, he was a graduate of the junior college and had to look for a four-year college. But before that, he played 25 games in the Cal Ripken Summer Collegiate League. His next stop was West Florida University. He played baseball for two years at the Pensacola university, graduating with a degree in health administration.
But that was not the end of his education. He spent two years at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia, getting a business degree while working as the junior varsity baseball coach and compliance officer. Then he went to Ole Miss, the University of Mississippi, where he worked two more years with athletes as an academic and compliance officer. From there, he went back to Pensacola, working in higher education at UWF and Pensacola State.
After a year in Pensacola, it was time to come home to Key West, where his best friends are still his former Conch baseball teammates. “Sports here (in Key West) are more than just sports,” he said. “A lot of athletes have gone through the programs here, gaining friendships that last forever. Dexter Butler, Raiko Alfonso are two of my best friends. I had been transitioning back to Key West, looking for an opportunity to come home,” he said.
He found that “opportunity” at Niles Sales and Service, where he worked in the accounting department for nearly a year. A year ago September, he followed another opportunity to the Key West branch of Bank of America. That’s where he was when I caught up with him.
He has also found another “opportunity.” He’ll be leaving the bank at the end of the month to join Keys Energy Services.
“I enjoy being back home with friends and family,” he said. His parents, Alvaro and Dianelys, and two older brothers all live in Key West.
Despite successful high school and college baseball careers, he says he never dreamed of being a professional player. “It’s a business,” he said of pro baseball.
Instead, like many former high school players, he plays in the coed and men’s softball leagues. Rodriguez is also an avid golfer, playing to a 15 handicap after only five years. He also manages to catch a few Conch baseball games. And he’s always aware of his next opportunity.
