Lakeland, Fla. ? Like kids checking out a friend’s new toy, a group of Detroit Tigers gathered around Ivan Rodriguez as he sat in the clubhouse at spring training.

They were angling to touch or even just see what the man known as “Pudge” earned last season: a diamond-filled World Series ring.

That was with the Florida Marlins, of course. The Tigers, meanwhile, earned little more than ignominy while losing 119 games — one short of the modern major-league record.

So the 10-time All-Star catcher went from the top of the heap to a team that many figure will be at the bottom. Then again, no one was picking the Marlins to go all the way when Rodriguez joined them a year ago.

“Everybody asks me, ‘Why Detroit?’ And I say, ‘Why not?'” Rodriguez said. “Anything can happen.”

Anything? How about a worst-to-first season?

“Yes, I believe this team can do anything,” Rodriguez said, sitting in front of his locker. “We can be great — this year.”

Embarrassed by 2003 and a decade of losing, Tigers owner Mike Ilitch decided to spend money to make Detroit’s once-proud franchise at least respectable.

The Tigers signed second baseman Fernando Vina, outfielder Rondell White and opening-day starter Jason Johnson, but knew they needed more. And fans wanted more, too.

New Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez is one of four players in baseball history with a career batting average of at least .300 and 10 or more Gold Gloves.

Detroit found the perfect match in Rodriguez. He wasn’t exactly a hot commodity in the offseason despite being the NL championship series MVP and one of four players in baseball history with a career batting average of at least .300 and 10 or more Gold Gloves (Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente and Roberto Alomar are the others).

So Pudge brought his impressive hitting credentials — .304 career average, 231 homers, 914 RBIs — and strong arm to the Tigers, signing a $40 million, four-year deal.

“I would’ve loved to stay with the Marlins,” he said. “It’s where I live. It’s home, but they didn’t get anywhere close.”

Two-time Gold Glove catcher Brad Ausmus of the Houston Astros said Rodriguez was worth whatever he was paid.

“He’s the best catcher, in terms of being able to be productive offensively and defensively, that has ever played this game, in my opinion,” said Ausmus, who used to play for Detroit. “And really, there’s not a lot of guys at any position that have done what he has at the plate and in the field.”

Rodriguez, 32, is determined to prove he still is an elite catcher, even though few players excel behind the plate at his age because they break down physically.

Detroit catcher Ivan Rodriguez prepares for spring training in this file photo from Feb. 19 at Tigers camp in Lakeland, Fla. Rodriguez went from the World Series-champion Marlins to the lowly Tigers in the offseason, generating hope in Detroit.

He played 144 games last year, and Tigers manager Alan Trammell expects Rodriguez to play at least as often this season, because he can be a designated hitter. If Rodriguez stays healthy during his 14th season, he could approach doubling his career total of games at DH, 35.

“It’s going to help my career doing that,” he said. “I probably can play longer.”

The Tigers can end his contract after the 2005 season if a spine injury in his lower back lands him on the disabled list for five weeks or more. Two years ago, in his 12th and final season with the Texas Rangers, Rodriguez was on the DL for more than a month because of a herniated disk in his lower back.

Rodriguez pushed and pulled his new teammates through extra workouts during spring training.

“We were running sprints one day and we were dead, gasping for air, and he said, ‘Let’s do some workouts with the medicine ball,'” first baseman Carlos Pena said. “What are you going to say? No? This guy is a future Hall of Famer who just won a World Series.”

And his signing energized Tigers fans.

The team collected a single-day record of more than $160,000 in ticket sales Feb. 2, when he was introduced. It was part of what has been the best sales season since the team moved to Comerica Park in 2000.

“We haven’t had a superstar since Tram, Lou (Whitaker) and Jack Morris were here and won the World Series 20 years ago,” said Hall of Famer Al Kaline, who helped Detroit win the 1968 World Series. “Adding a Hall of Famer like Pudge gave us a lot of the credibility throughout baseball that we’ve lost over the years, quite frankly.”

And the man who was the catcher on the last Tigers team to win a World Series, in 1984, approves.

“I can’t think of a catcher that has been better defensively or better all-around in the history of the game,” said Lance Parrish, now Detroit’s bullpen coach.