Rod grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico and attended St. Michael’s High School, where he excelled as a left-handed pitcher for the Horsemen in 1982. He graduated with a business degree from Newman University in Wichita, Kansas where he made All-District 7 as a pitcher. Wanting to continue his pitching career, Rod soon found himself pitching professionally in the AAA Mexican League by age 22 for the Rieleros de Aguascalientes team. In 1989, he caught a break and resurfaced in the Minor League’s Northwest League for the Boise Hawks. He has been pitching ever since… He is now in his fourth decade of pitching in Minor League Baseball, a career that has encompassed three countries… In 2012, Rod wrote the book, “Ageless Arm, My Passion Lives in the Core” published by Speaking Volumes. In the book, Rod recounts how his brother switched him from a right hander to a lefty, in hopes of one day making it as a pitcher. In between stints as an Independent Baseball League pitcher, Rod has pitched for over 95 amateur teams since 1980 and won an amazing 413 games, making him the winningest pitcher in New Mexico history. He joined the MSBL (Men’s Senior Baseball League) for those 25-& over and has won more games than anyone in the history of the league, posting a win-loss record of 320-62 over a span of twenty-two years (1993-2015) for a winning percentage of .840.

Over the course of thirty years, Rod has pitched over 650 games, pitched five no-hitters (including one perfect game), and thrown over 70,000 pitches. At the age of 49, Rod recorded an MSBL State Record 23-strikeout game in nine innings. He has won eight NM MSBL State Championships and 17 National Championships, including three in Puerto Rico.
For all his efforts, Rod was enshrined to the MSBL’s National Hall of Fame for 2014. In Santa Fe, he was recognized by the mayor and city council, for his achievement with a proclamation entitled, Rod Tafoya “The Ageless Arm-300th Victory Day” in honor of his winning 300 games on May 28, 2014. Today, in his 50’s, the ‘Ageless Arm” continues to pitch in both amateur and Indy Professional Baseball Leagues throughout the country.