Pudge lands on HOF ballot for first time

14-time All-Star and 1999 American League MVP Ivan Rodriguez is a candidate to enter the Hall of Fame after an outstanding 21-year careerARLINGTON -- The Rangers played in the 1999 Hall of Fame Game in Cooperstown, N.Y., and they were given a private tour of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum the night before.

Ivan Rodriguez remembers the night well.

"I saw the whole museum," Rodriguez said. "Believe me, to be honest, one of the things I said to my kids that night was, 'One day you guys are going to come here and see my plaque.' That's what I told my family."

That day should come in 2017. The '17 Hall of Fame ballot was released Monday, and Rodriguez is on there for the first time.…