The Seattle Mariners are becoming the team to watch going forward in the 2023 MLB season, mainly due to the electricity of their franchise centerfielder Julio Rodríguez.
The Mariners have the second-best record in baseball since the All-Star break, losing only 11 games since the 16th of July. Seattle has jumped four teams as they have propelled themselves into the final Wild Card spot.
“J-Rod’s” batting average was floating around .250 as July turned into August. The Mariners traveled to sunny Los Angeles for the first series of the month. The Mariners swept the Angles and have been the hottest team in the American League. They have lost only three games in August.
In the past 14 days, the center fielder has been hitting .458, slugging .695, and has an OPS+ of 218 (100 is the league average.)
Rodríguez tallied an unfathomable 21 hits in the past seven games driving the Mariners past their division rival Houston Astros. The Mariners completed their first sweep at Minute Maid Park since 2018 and lassoed the Astros within a half-game in the standings.
The Dominican made MLB history on August 19th, becoming the only player to record 17 hits in a four-game span. He joins Milt Stock as the only player in history to record four consecutive four-hit games. Stock recorded the feat in 1925.
These two tweets show the absurdity of Rodríguez’s recent four-game stretch.
In the days leading up to Julio putting the Mariners on his back, the record books were already being rewritten. Rodríguez hit his 20th home run of the season, marking his second consecutive 20 home runs, 20 stolen base season. He made the feat just days after Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr did the same thing.
They are the only two in history to achieve two 20/20 seasons in their first two seasons in the MLB.
Rodríguez is proving he is worth MLB’s most expensive and extensive contract. He signed a 12-year extension in the 2022 offseason that guarantees him $210 million but has the potential to grow to 17 years and $470 million.
The Mariners hold the last Wild Card spot, but after a three-game sweep against the Astros, they are only a half-game back of playoff security.
