Rhoden was born and raised in Boynton Beach, Florida. Rhoden overcame a childhood bone disease, osteomyelitis, and he wore a brace until age 12. He attended Seacrest High School in Delray Beach, Florida, where he was the star pitcher for the school\'s baseball team. He was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round of the 1971 amateur draft and played minor league baseball in Daytona Beach, El Paso, and Albuquerque until he was called up to the Major Leagues in 1974.\n', '

At the age of 21, Rhoden broke into the big leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 5, 1974. He was elected to the All-Star team twice (1976 with the Dodgers and 1986 with the Pirates) and won three Silver Slugger Awards (1984–1986). His teams made it to the postseason twice during his career, both with the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978. In both of those years, the Dodgers reached the World Series against the New York Yankees but lost in six games each year.\n', '

Rhoden earned a reputation as an outstanding hitting pitcher. He had an eleven-game hitting streak in 1984, one of the longest all-time for a pitcher. On June 11, 1988, New York Yankees manager Billy Martin made him the Yankees\' starting designated hitter, and he went 0–1 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. He batted seventh in the lineup, ahead of Rafael Santana and Joel Skinner. He was the first pitcher to start a game at DH since the AL\'s adoption of the DH rule in 1973. José Cruz pinch hit for Rhoden in the Yankees\' 8–6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.\n', "

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