Rodriguez has more hits (2,844) than any other catcher. Ever. (Getty Images)
It's almost hard to believe Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez is about to announce his retirement because he always seemed like he'd go on playing forever. You know he wanted to.

Pudge not only would tell you he wanted to play another year but he always said when asked he wanted to play three more years. No matter that 39- or 40-year-old catchers don't get three more years, that's what he wanted.

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Pudge did things few ever did, so he never felt constrained by history. He started catching in the bigs at 19 years old and stopped in the year he turned 40. He hoped to play at least another year, of course, but by 10 days or so ago, he started to get the idea it wasn't going to happen. I ran into him on the beach in Miami a week and a half ago and he told me he was close to retiring. But "close'' to Pudge meant he was still holding out hope.

He wasn't going to take just any job, though. He was hearing from some friends that the Rays, just across the state, might still need another catcher, and he was holding out a bit of hope that they may call. Probably today, he still holds a smidgen of hope that they will.

But the time has come for Pudge. An announcement is expected Thursday regarding his retirement, and a nice retirement ceremony is planned for Monday in Arlington, Texas.

He won a World Series where he now lives, in Miami, in 2003. He helped turn around a great and historic franchise in Detroit. But Texas is where he had his greatest glory days. Because he did keep playing a long time, some younger folks may not remember exactly how great he was. But he is one of the alltime best as a catcher.

Pudge made 14 All-Star teams. That's one fewer than Yogi Berra for most ever by a catcher and the same number as Johnny Bench. He won 13 Gold Glove awards, which is one more than Bench.

He finished with 2,844 hits, the most ever for a catcher. He scored 1,354 runs and knocked in 1,332 runs. His game was about more than offensive numbers, of course. He was the prototype defensive catcher with a gun of an arm. Basestealers just didn't run on him. As good as Yadier Molina was, Rodriguez was even a bit better in his prime. The arm was a gift from God.

So was the heart, which made him think he could keep going forever. He talked briefly the day I saw him about the chance he had to go to camp with the Kansas City Royals this spring, and he seemed to be wondering whether he had done right by not jumping at it. He didn't say exactly what the offer was, but he wasn't a guy who figured he needed to try out at this stage.

And in a way, he didn't need to. He's a Hall of Famer based on what he's already done as a catcher, which is more than just about anyone else. Even if he didn't get those three more years.