With the firing of Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez this morning, his replacement makes history. Edwin Rodriguez becomes the 1st Puerto Rican manager in the Majors after taking over the reins of the Florida Marlins with the dismissal of Fredi Gonzalez after a disappointing (to team owner Jeffrey Loria) 34-36 record. It was believed (again by Jeffrey Loria) that the Marlins were a playoff caliber team. The situation was compounded by a benching of superstar Hanley Ramirez and the ensuing public dispute between Gonzalez and Ramirez. (Photo Credit: Andres Leighton/AP Photo)Rodriguez, in his eighth season in the Marlins organization, managed their AAA affiliate the New Orleans Zephers for the past season and a half. Rodriguez had spent two years as manager of Single-A Greensboro (2007-08), two as manager of the Gulf Coast League Marlins (2005-06), and two as hitting coach for Double-A Carolina (2003-04). Rodriguez also was part of the Tampa Bay organization, managing Rookie-level Princeton for three seasons (2000-02) and Class A Hudson Valley for one (1999). He played parts of three seasons with the Yankees and Padres from 1982-85. Rodriguez joins Juan Samuel as the 2nd Latino to be hired as a major league manager (Samuel is the interim manager for the Baltimore Orioles).
In terms of the departing Gonzalez, he has the most wins of any manager in Marlins history with an overall record of 276-279. After an overachieving 2008 season where the Marlins finished in 2nd place in the NL East with an 84-77 record, he was named The Sporting News' Manager of the Year.
As much as I hate to see a Latino lose his job, I'm glad to see that another one was chosen to right the ship. Felicidades Edwin, good luck.
FH
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