Rodriguez Transforms Himself into One of Eastfield's Best

Angel Rodriguez understands transformation. Over the last few years, he's made changes that have set up his life for the better.

When Rodriguez first enrolled at Dallas College Eastfield in 2019 to play baseball, he carried more weight than was ideal. At one point, he was 290 pounds.

"When he first came into our program, he was a really big fella," Harvester Bees 22-year head coach Michael Martin said.

There was no arguing he was a talent on the ball field coming out of Tyler, Texas, but something had to change. That's what Rodriguez set his mind to do. He lost 100 pounds, using a strict diet, proper training and more discipline.

"Last year, I really dialed in," Rodriguez said. "It was a huge change in my game. I was a different ball player at that time. It was worth it. The discipline … it took a lot. Not just losing the weight, but going about my life, it was a lot harder. Just knowing that I had to stay on track at all times, just being as consistent as I can."

It meant eliminating late-night meals. It meant extra reps in the weight room. It meant doing more cardio. It meant eating more of a clean diet.

"He really transformed his body, being disciplined in that area," Martin said. "He got stronger. He got in better shape. When we recruited him, we knew there were certain skills there as far as him having some bat speed."

Rodriguez's exit velocity off the bat was over 100 miles per hour. Cutting significant weight made him an even better hitter.

Yet it was difficult.

"It was a lot of up and downs," Rodriguez said. "It was always on my mind. I'm already one to have a lot of anxiety throughout my life. It took a lot on my mental (toll). Every day, just eating (right), cutting down on some cravings. I felt like I stayed strong the whole time, mindset wise. At the end of the day, it was pretty easy for me because I knew it was translating to the field as much as I can."

That it has. Now in his third season with the Harvester Bees – this year granted due to the COVID exception, he has taken his game to another level. A National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Second Team All-American last year after batting .357 with 20 home runs, 12 doubles, two triples, 54 runs batted in and 66 runs scored, Rodriguez's numbers continue to climb.

In an offense fueled with firepower, Rodriguez is certainly one who can ignite the flame. This season, he leads the nation in hits (62), RBI (64) and runs scored (55). He is second in home runs (12), third in walks (31) and sixth in triples (4). He is batting a Dallas Athletic Conference-best .470, and has nine doubles.

"He's been really consistent in his time here as far as what he's done offensively and defensively, for that matter, for us," Martin said. "A lot of that can be attributed to his patience at the plate. He has a really good feel for the strike zone. He knows which pitches he can handle. And he has a pretty steady demeanor about himself where if he's 0-for-2 and coming to the plate the third time, you wouldn't know it. You'd think the guy was 2-for-2. And if he was 2-for-2, you wouldn't know that either. He stays pretty steady with his motions. He doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low. That bodes well for a hitter, especially a baseball player in general, but specifically for a hitter because you're going to fail a lot more times than you're going to succeed."

Martin considers him one of the better hitters to ever don a Harvester Bees uniform. He also puts him up there as one of the better defensive first basemen he's had over the years.

"Seeing myself progress over the years definitely tells me that I'm going in the right direction," Rodriguez said. "I take it serious every day. Wanting to play after this is the overall goal."

Rodriguez committed to Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He admits he's looked ahead to playing for the four-year school under a scholarship, while pursuing a degree in business. He has designs to play beyond college, too. For now, the focus is on finishing strong at Eastfield.

"We've got a lot to accomplish here," Rodriguez said.

The Harvester Bees played for the NJCAA Division III championship a year ago, coming up short in the title game. They began this season ranked No. 1 in the country, and currently are No. 2, while sitting atop the DAC standings with a 30-9 overall, 15-3 conference record entering Wednesday's three-game series opener with Dallas College Richland.

"We have bunch of returners from last year's team, so that's always a good thing because this team is a little younger," Rodriguez said. "Just a lot of confidence, it's all we can have. We had no doubts that we were going to come out ready to play this year. A lot of trust in the coaches and all our players."

He, himself, is soaking it all up, taking it pitch by pitch.

"Baseball's a fun game," Rodriguez said. "It'll beat you up if you're not ready for it, but I love the game. Having fun with the guys, wanting to win every game keeps the fire lit. I would say I'm a pretty good part to have in the lineup because I'm fighting every at-bat. It's an individual sport, but at the same time, we do have a team. That just gets me playing the whole time, knowing that I do have my guys' back."

In the same way he underwent a physical transformation, Rodriguez needed to make adjustments academically. In his first year at Eastfield, he posted roughly a B average in the classroom. Soon baseball became the priority. Then his grade point average began to drop. If his GPA continued to spiral, baseball might not be in the cards much longer. So he buckled down, this time in the classroom. Slowly, his grades have climbed back up.

"I didn't take it as serious as I should have," Rodriguez said. "These last few years, I could feel that, and I knew that I had to make a change, especially if I was going to keep playing ball at the next level. I dialed in a lot more, and really just stuck to my classes. I started passing my classes. My GPA started going up."

After taking the 2021 spring semester off academically and from baseball, Rodriguez returned last year, motivated to turn everything around.

"He did realize that, yeah, the education part of this is a big part," Martin said. "We stress that in our program. We try to make these guys realize that baseball's not always going to be there, and what you do educationally is what's going to carry you through life. This is just as important as anything else we do here, and I think he did kind of make a point to turn that part of his career around. Along with trying to transform his body, and moving it in a positive direction, I feel he did that educationally as well."

Now as the postseason draws closer, Rodriguez appreciates all that Eastfield has offered him.

"It's been a fun journey," Rodriguez said. "I'm just thankful that Coach Martin allowed me to come back and play for the team all these years. I'm just taking advantage of it. I'm ready to leave it now, but at the same time, it's going to be hard. Every year was good. Every year was different. It was better every year. I'm just grateful for that."