Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez made history Sunday, clubbing his 20th home run of the year to become the first player to ever record 20/20 seasons in each of his first 4 MLB campaigns.
It was an especially memorable occasion as his two-run shot in the third inning was also the 100th career homer for the talented 24 year old.
“That’s a very big accomplishment,” Rodriguez told reporters. “I know my family’s very happy, and I’m sure they’re thinking of all the things I had to do to be able to get here. To be able to do it with this team and this organization is awesome. I’m just excited to see where things are going to go from here.”
Rodriguez burst onto the scene as a 21 year old back in 2022, hitting 28 home runs, and swiping 25 bases en route to an AL Rookie of the Year award. He then followed that up with an even more impressive sophomore campaign, hitting 32 HRs, driving in 103 RBIs, scoring 102 runs, and swiping 37 bases. This led to a 4th place AL MVP finish and the 2nd consecutive All-Star selection of his young career.
2024 was a down year by Rodriguez’s lofty standards, as the Dominican born centre fielder hit just 20 round trippers, and drove in 68 runs, representing significant steps backwards in both categories. This year, Rodriguez leads the league in plate appearances with 504, and looks to be on pace to record similar totals to his rookie campaign.
Seattle is in the midst of another playoff push, as they attempt to chase down the AL West leading Houston Astros who have a 2.5 game lead over the Mariners heading into Monday’s slate of games. As things currently stand, the Mariners occupy the final AL Wildcard spot, and have a 2 game cushion on the Texas Rangers for the coveted 6th seed.
Seattle plays host to the visiting Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night as they kick off a 6 game homestand at T-Mobile Park.
Photo: Jsayre64. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.