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Julio Rodriguez will be entering his third season in the major leagues but has already established himself as one of the leading faces of the Seattle Mariners.
J-Rod recently teamed up with Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki for a hilarious advert ahead of the new season. In a digital short, Rodriguez was seen trying to swat a fly - a quite literal take on his “no fly zone” defensive approach.
After J-Rod’s multiple failed attempts, in comes Ichiro who shows him how it’s done. You can watch the comedy unfold below:
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It wasn’t the first time that the pair were seen together this offseason. Last month, J-Rod and Ichiro played catch during day one of spring training.
Ichiro will be eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame next year and is widely expected to make it to Cooperstown as a first-ballot inductee. There's a very real chance that he could make it to the HoF unanimously.
If he does, Ichiro would become only the second unanimous inductee in history, after Mariano Rivera.
Mariners will depend heavily on Julio Rodriguez to make playoffs
The Mariners will get their 2024 MLB regular season underway when they host the Boston Red Sox at T-Mobile Park tonight at 10:10 p.m. ET.
Seattle missed the playoffs by only one game last season and will bank on their heavy hitters, especially Julio Rodriguez, to make the postseason this time.
Many would’ve expected the Mariners to make a move for at least a couple of big names, but that didn’t materialize. However, the likes of Jorge Polanco, Mitch Haniger and Mitch Garver were decent pickups.
Seattle have a dependable rotation featuring Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert. All they need now is for their bats to deliver consistently, and all eyes will be on Julio Rodriguez.
J-Rod won AL Rookie of the Year after a dominant 2022 and maintained that upwards trajectory in 2023. He's the only player in MLB history to have at least 25 home runs and as many stolen bases in both his first two seasons in the majors.
