He credits his elder brother Jack, now 65, for all of his on-field successes."When I was two years old my brother Jack tied my right arm behind my back to make me a lefty when we played catch,” said Tafoya, a natural right-hander. 48 years later it is safe to say that Jack had a vision. "To this day Jack comes to my games and charts pitches for me. I would be lost without him.”
Rod credits his mother for instilling in him the perseverance to continue with his dream no matter who or what got in his way.
More importantly, however, is Rod’s approach to the game and to life. "Any milestone, no matter its size, is achievable,” starts Tafoya. "All you have to do is believe in yourself, have faith, passion, and work ethic.Your love for what you do will take you where you need to go. The happiness it brings you will fulfill your life and make all your dreams come true."
There have been quite a few accomplishments along the journey for Tafoya. His baseball, and for that matter his business, resume is impressive. After completing college, and obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Newman University in 1985, Rod signed his first professional baseball contract with the Delfines de Puerto Vallarta. The Delfines were a Double A team in the Mexican winter leagues.
In 1987, while pitching for the Double A Tabasquena League's Comalcalco Cocaoteros, he was optioned to the Triple A Liga Mexicana de Beisbol's Rieleros de Aguascaliente in June.
Rod has an interesting story about his "optioning". It seems as the team bus was headed north and passed near to Aguascaliente, the bus stopped and the manager told Rod he had been traded and needed to get off the bus here. At 20 years old, on a deserted part of the highway leading into Aguascaliente, Rod dusted himself off and walked into the city, found his team and finished up the year.
By 1989, Rod had signed a contract to play for the Boise Hawks and then the Class A Erie Sailors. Rod was unable to advance and after some arm trouble was released. He did not quit though and at age 33 returned to the minor leagues with the Regina Cyclones of the Prairie League.
Tafoya continued play ball after his release from the Cyclones and his desire to play and to encourage people of all ages to pursue their dreams, led Rod Tafoya to write an autobiography in 2012 called "Ageless Arm...My Passion Lives in the Core". The book is about his love for the game of baseball and life itself.
Some of the interesting facts about Tafoya's baseball career that speak to his perseverance follow.
* He has thrown over 70,000 pitches in competition
* Pitched for 84 different teams from 1986-2014
* Averaged 15 wins for 20 straight years while losing just 3 games per year
* Has won 23 Championships - 14 State Championships, 8 National Titles and 1 Professional Championship
* Threw a no hitter at age 47 while striking out 14 batters
* At age 35 went 17-0 with a 1.17 ERA
* Has thrown 5 no hitters and 1 perfect game
In October of 2014, Rod Tafoya was inducted into the MSBL Hall of Fame.
Some may look at his 300+ wins and think that the competition he faced wasn't the best or that he never reached Triple A in the US Minor Leagues but Tafoya has pitched, and pitched well, for over 32 years and has no thoughts of retiring. There are not many players, let alone pitchers, who have pitched competitively past the age of 50 with the success that Rod has achieved.
