Rougned Odor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rougned Odor |
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Odor with the Yomiuri Giants in 2024
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| Free agent | |||
| Second baseman | |||
| Born: February 3, 1994 Maracaibo, Venezuela |
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| debut | |||
| May 8, 2014, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) |
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| Batting average | .230 | ||
| Home runs | 178 | ||
| Runs batted in | 568 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Rougned Roberto Odor (born February 3, 1994), often called "Rougie", is a baseball player from Venezuela. He plays as a second baseman and is currently a free agent, meaning he is not signed with any team. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for teams like the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and San Diego Padres.
Odor played for the Rangers' smaller teams (minor league affiliates) starting in 2011. He joined the main MLB team in 2014. In 2021, the Rangers traded him to the Yankees. After that season, he left the Yankees and signed with the Orioles for the 2022 season.
Early Life and Family
Rougned Odor was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on February 3, 1994. His first name is a mix of his grandfather's name, Douglas, and his grandmother's name, Nedia. His family likes to give boys names that start with "R," so the "D" in Douglas was changed to an "R," making it Rougned.
His father, also named Rougned, played college baseball. Rougned has a sister and a younger brother, Rougned José Odor, who also signed with the Texas Rangers organization in 2015. His uncle, Rouglas, played baseball for eight seasons in the Minor League Baseball system. He is now a manager for a minor league team called the Akron RubberDucks. Three of his uncles on his mother's side also played baseball. They all played for the Aguilas de Zulia team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. One of them, Eduardo Zambrano, also played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs.
Even though he grew up in the city of Maracaibo, Rougned often visited his mother's family in the countryside on weekends. He spent time around horses and enjoys a sport called toros coleados, which involves horses.
Odor started playing baseball when he was just two years old. He played in the 2009 World Youth Baseball Championship and was chosen as an all-star second baseman for the tournament.
Professional Baseball Career
Starting in the Minor Leagues
In 2011, Rougned Odor signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent from another country. He received a $425,000 bonus for signing. The Rangers quickly assigned him to a team called the Spokane Indians. He was the youngest player in that league. In 2012, Odor played for the Hickory Crawdads.
In 2013, Odor started the season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. He had a good batting average of .303 in 99 games played. Later that year, he was moved up to the Frisco RoughRiders, a higher-level minor league team. Odor's good performance helped the Rangers trade another player to get Alex Rios, a skilled right fielder. Odor finished the 2013 season with a .305 batting average. He hit 41 doubles, six triples, 11 home runs, and had 78 runs batted in. The Rangers named him their minor league player of the year.
The Rangers invited Odor to their main spring training camp in 2014. He began that year playing for Frisco.
Playing for the Texas Rangers
2014 Season
The Rangers called Odor up to the major leagues on May 8, 2014. The very next day, he got his first major league hit. On May 12, he hit his first major league home run. He hit his first grand slam on August 27. Odor was the youngest player in MLB during his first season. He helped the Rangers at second base, even though the team had a tough year.
Odor finished 2014 with a .259 batting average. He scored 39 runs, hit 14 doubles, nine home runs, and had 48 RBIs in 110 games. He was the youngest player in the American League.
2015 Season
Odor started the 2015 season as the Rangers' main second baseman. However, he had a difficult start, hitting only .144 in 29 games. Because of this, he was sent down to the Round Rock Express, a Triple-A team, on May 11. While playing for Round Rock, Odor improved a lot. He hit .352 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. On June 15, he was called back up to the Rangers. In his first game back, he had a great performance, getting three hits and two RBIs. He continued to play well in June and July.
He ended the 2015 regular season with a .261 batting average, 16 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 54 runs scored.
2016 Season
On May 15, 2016, Odor was involved in an on-field incident during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. This happened after a Blue Jays player slid into Odor at second base. Odor received an eight-game suspension from MLB for his actions. After an appeal, his suspension was changed to seven games.
In 150 games, Odor finished the year with a .271 batting average, 33 home runs, 33 doubles, and 88 RBIs. He led all American League second basemen in errors, with 22.
On October 9, Odor made a throwing error in a playoff game against the Toronto Blue Jays. This error allowed the Blue Jays to score the winning run, which meant the Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs.
2017 Season
Before the 2017 season, Odor played for the Venezuelan national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. On March 25, he signed a new contract with the Rangers for six years, worth $49.5 million. In the Rangers' first game of the 2017 season, Odor hit two home runs in his first two turns at bat.
For the 2017 season, he batted .204. He had the lowest batting average on balls in play among all major league players. For the third year in a row, he led all American League second basemen in errors, with 19.
2018 to 2020 Seasons
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In 2018, Odor batted .253 with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs. He stole 12 bases. In 2019, he batted .205 with 30 home runs and 93 RBIs. He had the most strikeouts in the American League that year, with 178. On defense, he led all American League second basemen in errors, with 15. In 2020, Odor batted .167 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs. He only played in 38 games that year because the season was shorter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 29, 2021, Odor was told he would not be on the Rangers' team for the start of the season. He was then removed from the team's main roster on April 1.
Playing for the New York Yankees
On April 6, 2021, the Rangers traded Odor to the New York Yankees. In July and August, he played third base for 23 games to help out when another player was injured.
The Yankees removed Odor from their roster on November 19, 2021. He was then released by the Yankees on November 23.
Playing for the Baltimore Orioles
Odor signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles on November 30, 2021. He played for the team in 2022. He finished the 2022 season with the Orioles with a .207 batting average, 13 home runs, 53 RBIs, and six stolen bases.
Playing for the San Diego Padres
On March 1, 2023, Odor signed a contract with the San Diego Padres to play in their minor league system. He was invited to their spring training camp. His contract was chosen for the main team on March 30. In 59 games for the Padres, he batted .210 with 4 home runs and 18 RBIs. The Padres removed Odor from their roster on July 18. On July 24, Odor became a free agent again.
Playing for the Yomiuri Giants
On January 20, 2024, Odor signed a one-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan. However, Odor was released on March 26. He left the team just three days before the season started, even though the team wanted him to play in their minor league system. He had a .176 batting average during the preseason.
Second Time with the New York Yankees
On April 5, 2024, Odor signed another minor league contract with the New York Yankees. He did not play in a game for the Yankees organization before he was released on August 1.
Personal Life
As part of the contract Odor signed in 2017 with the Rangers, the team owner gave him two quarter horses. These were the seventh and eighth horses Odor owned. Odor plans to build a ranch in the North Texas area so his family can move there from Venezuela.
See also
In Spanish: Rougned Odor para niños
- List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
