Julio Rodriguez is a well-liked and well-respected player across the game.
Earlier this week, we learned that Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez recently made a big impact in his hometown of Loma De Cabrera, Dominican Republic.
Rodriguez donated somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million US dollars to help renovate a baseball field in his native country, which he has continuously given back to since getting to the major leagues.
Not only did Rodriguez help turn the dream into a reality, he had lots of support as he did it. Mariners teammates Luis Castillo and Victor Robles showed up for the unveiling of the new field, as did New York Mets star Juan Soto and others.
We spoke to ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney recently on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast, and he had this to say about Rodriguez's philanthropy and his connection to current players.
And he is viewed as a star by his peers, right? He got a lot of attention from us in the media as he was coming up through the minor leagues. He signed that huge contract with the Mariners. But other players have high regard for him, and he's a positive force when you see him out on the field before games and interacting with players and other teams.
And I'll never forget when he did the Home Run Derby for the first time. Mookie Betts was not participating, he was walking behind home plate just after Julio finished a round and I was on the field doing the coverage: And Mookie looked at me, after watching Julio, he had a bunch of home runs in Seattle, he goes, 'wow.' Just now that, like, 'Oh, my God.' I mean, he was so impressed by him. So when you mentioned all the other stars coming out to support him, that doesn't surprise me. Like, he has sort of the David Ortiz-level of connection with other players, which is really cool.
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Ortiz is one of the most well-liked players of the last quarter century - and a National Baseball Hall of Famer - so any time you can draw comparisons to him, you are doing something right.
And Rodriguez certainly is. He was an All-Star for the third time in four years this past season, helping the Mariners get to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. He hit .267 with 32 home runs, 95 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. He finished sixth in the American League MVP voting.
He's already becoming a trendy pick to win MVP in the 2026 campaign.
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