BRONX, NY — Whether the Mariners are playing in their home ballpark, T-Mobile Park, or on the road, nearly 3,000 miles away at Yankee Stadium, fans show up and show out for the reigning American League LatinoMVP Rookie of the Year, Julio Rodríguez.
From the very beginning of Thursday’s pregame between Seattle and New York, you could tell ‘The J-Rod Show’ was in the Bronx — any direction you decided to turn, you heard constant “J-Rod” chants and saw a wave of #44 Mariners jerseys.
It was quite the shock since the 22-year-old from Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic, made his MLB debut last April, has played in 203 career games so far and has developed a fan base similar to Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Fernando Tatis Jr.
just out here having a good time pic.twitter.com/MKJRhZLipb
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 28, 2023
But, when you look at his stats, watch him play in-person with a smile and pure hustle as well as observe his interactions with the fans, you tend to realize why J-Rod is the next legitimate face of baseball.
On the field, he is an instant highlight reel, who contains the attributes of a five-tool player (hits for power, hits for average, impeccable speed, tremendous arm strength paired to Gold Glove caliber defense). Recently, Rodríguez became the second-fastest player since 1900 to reach 40 HR and 40 stolen bases in his first 200 career games played (Fernando Tatis Jr: 195 career games – 2020 NL LatinoMVP).
Julio Rodríguez in 2022 Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium. J-Rod recently announced he will be participating in the 2023 HR Derby at T-Mobile Park in Seattle – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Nonetheless, J-Rod’s key component is what he does off-the-field, pertaining to making lifelong memories with fans. I took some time during Thursday’s series finale to observe these exciting moments, here are my thoughts…
1) J-Rod took the field around 6:45pm for his normal pre-game routine and as soon as he stepped out of the dugout, you felt and heard the buzz in the air. Fans, majority under the age of 15, began to run down the sections of the third base line in hopes to meet him and get an autograph.
2) When he finished stretching, the crowd generated from the left-field foul pole all the way down near the visitors dugout (nearly six-seven sections worth). Obviously, he could not reach every single fan, but sure tried his best!
3) Rodríguez spent at least 10 minutes signing autographs, hugging fans and even grabbed some phones to take selfies with. Afterwards, he acknowledged stadium security, who were stationed on-the-field and took some time to chat with them.
Julio Rodríguez’s customized theme cereal cleats – Image Credit: Lucia Footwear Co/Twitter
4) During the start of the game, the stadium scoreboard zoomed in on J-Rod, then specifically his rainbow colored cleats that looked quite familiar… JULIO’s! Rodríguez was seen wearing his new cereal themed cleats.
Julio Rodríguez’s customized theme cereal cleats – Image Credit: Lucia Footwear Co/Twitter
5) Throughout the Mariners 10-2 victory over the Yankees, J-Rod appeared to be playing fun with the fans by picking out who to throw a ball to each half-inning following his warm up throws. Like a T-shirt toss but way more competitive!
Overall, Thursday’s game was just another night for some, but to others, thanks to J-Rod, fans left the stadium with a story they can tell for the rest of their lives.
Robert Rizzo is a journalist and co-editor of Latino Sports – Email: RobertRiz994@gmail.com
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