"On a summer day in 1991, Jerry Hairston Jr. made his way into the stands at Comiskey Park. The starting catcher for his Naperville, Ill., high school team, Hairston's interest was piqued when he heard there was a 19-year-old making his major league debut behind the plate for the Texas Rangers.

Ivan Rodriguez remembers the day well. Kevin Brown pitched, Rodriguez threw out two base runners - including current teammate Alex Cora's brother Joey - and he drove in two runs with a ninth-inning single. He also recalls, with a smile, that the Rangers won and he caught the whole game.

Twenty years and one day later, Hairston reminded the Nationals catcher that June 20, 1991 was a day he remembers vividly, too: It was the day Hairston decided he may need to become an infielder if he wanted to make it to the major leagues. Rodriguez was that good.

"It was great," Rodriguez said, sitting in the Nationals' dugout Tuesday afternoon and thinking back to that day in Chicago.

"Sometimes, I sit with myself and start thinking about the career that I have, and it's pretty amazing. It's pretty good … I'm very happy with the career that I have. It's not over yet. I still have plenty left."

That might be an understatement for the future Hall of Famer, who entered Tuesday 161 hits shy of 3,000 with 14 Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers, 14 All-Star Games and one American League MVP award to his name. He also has a 2003 World Series ring, won as a member of the Florida Marlins."