Julio Rodriguez Is Living Up To The Hype On Baseball’s Biggest Stage

Julio Rodriguez is starting to live up to the hype as the face of the Seattle Mariners franchise. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

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When when the Seattle Mariners signed Julio Rodriguez as an international free agent in 2017, they anticipated that they had a five-tool player on their hands. There was a belief within the organization that they had their next superstar, after Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, and Ichiro Suzuki. Rodriguez was a player that they could build the franchise around for the next decade plus.

In his first year, Rodriguez lived up to the hype, slashing .284/.345/.509, with 28 home runs. During that rookie campaign, the club signed the speedy center fielder to one of the most inventive contracts in the history of the sport. As he was so early in his career, the Mariners had to be careful not to overpay…by too much. Because he was so early in his career, Rodriguez had to be careful not to sell himself short. So, his agents at Octagon and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto came up with a choose-your-own adventure construct, which has all sorts of levers and incentives and ways to protect both sides from having the deal be too one-sided. In a nutshell, the deal could be any of the following:

• 7 years, $120 million (base deal)
• 12 years, $210-$245 million (with player option)
• 14 years, $288 million (mutual option)
• 15 years, $320-$400 million (base team option)
• 17 years, $470 million (supersized team option)

Unfortunately for the player and the team, Rodriguez has not been a consistent superstar. His smile radiates joy. The show he put on at the 2022 Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium, when he hit 81 total dingers, introduced him to normie baseball fans. His charitable work and interactions with the Seattle community is exactly what you want from the face of your franchise. But, on the field, Rodriguez has been hampered by slow starts every season (.229 career average in March/April). His second halves have been closer to the form the team expected and now expects (.307 in August/September), but, on the whole, the Mariners would prefer an OPS closer to .900 than the .800 where he currently resides.

All of that said, players can live up to their contracts — and then some — when the calendar turns to October. Prior to this season, Rodriguez has only had one taste of the playoffs, in 2022, which consisted of five total games, and ended unceremoniously at the hands (and bats) of the Houston Astros. This year, the team rode the potential MVP season of Cal Raleigh (and his 60 home runs from the catcher position) and pitching ace Bryan Woo, plus a cast of characters and mid-season acquisitions, to control of the American League West. And while the Astros didn’t even get into the playoff tournament, the Mariners sat back and waited in Seattle for the Guardians and Tigers to battle out a best-of-three in the Wild Card round.

When Detroit exorcised their September demons by finishing off Cleveland in Game 3, they had to head to the Pacific Northwest to face the rested and ready M’s in a best-of-five for the right to play for the AL pennant.

In Game 1, Rodriguez was on point, going 3-for-5 with an early homer, in what would eventually be a 3-2 Tigers victory. With Seattle ceding home field advantage, and facing the presumed back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in Game 2, the Mariners found themselves potentially making another quick post-season exit. Skubal was his normal, dominating self. That said, he did allow two solo homers to Jorge Polanco, which was quite a feat unto itself.

Those dingers staked Seattle to a 2-0 lead. In the top of the eighth inning, Tiger first baseman Spencer Torkelson (a first-round pick who has not yet lived up to his billing), doubled in two runs off Matt Brash to tie the game.

But in the bottom half, after Raleigh banged a one-out double, Rodriguez followed with his own double down the left field line to drive in the lead — and eventual winning — run.

A stone’s throw from T-Mobile Park is Lumen Field, where the Seattle Seahawks play. That stadium, and that team, are famous for the “12s” (formerly the “12th Man”) — the fans that provide that little extra something that can cause the building to rock and can intimidate visiting teams. When the Mariners are going well, the same is true of the dans at T-Mobile. And when Rodriguez stood on second base and pumped his fist after the Big Dumper crossed the plate, it was clear that the “10th Man” was working doing their job. And, at that moment, it was clear that the Mariners had tied the series at one game apiece, as they head to Detroit for Games 3 and 4.

This series is by no means over. In fact, there is a chance that that was the Mariners last game in Seattle this season. But, just as easily, the Mariners could next play at T-Mobile in the American League Championship Series if they take the next two games in the Motor City. Whatever happens over the course of the next few days, it is clear that Julio Rodriguez will be involved and will be instrumental. If he continues to play as he has since 2022, if he plays as has in the first two games of this series, then the fans in Seattle should have at least one more series to root for their team. A team that continues in their pursuit of their first World Series championship.