 Making his debut with the Texas Rangers on June 20 , 1991 , he became the youngest player to catch in a major league game that season at 19 years of age . He immediately established himself as an excellent hitter who was also proficient in throwing out would @-@ be base @-@ stealers . No other catcher in the past 35 years has been as successful at this aspect of the game , with Rodríguez throwing out 48 % of attempted basestealers through May 2006 . He started many of the Rangers games at the end of the season , including 81 of the last 102 . Rodríguez became the youngest player in the history of the Texas Rangers to hit a home run , on August 30 , 1991 , facing the Kansas City Royals and right @-@ hander Storm Davis . He was named to the Major League Baseball ( MLB ) Rookie All @-@ Star team by both Topps and Baseball America and finished in fourth place in the AL Rookie of the Year voting . He also placed first in throwing out runners , catching 48 @.@ 6 percent of runners attempting to steal . 
