Even though he wasn't in the starting lineup for the Dominican Republic on Monday for Game 3 of pool play against Israel, Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez has enjoyed an excellent World Baseball Classic run so far.

The M's outfielder, who finished sixth in the American League MVP voting last season, had three hits and a homer in the opener against Nicaragua on Friday night and is part of the reason why the Dominicans are 3-0 and looking like one of the favorites to win the entire tournament.

The DR last won the World Baseball Classic in 2013. It's the only win in five tries for the baseball-proud country. Japan has won three times (2006, 2009. 2023), while the United States won in 2017.

Speaking on MLB Network on Monday morning, Rodriguez talked about what it means to him to play in the tournament, to represent his country, to play for manager Albert Pujols and the fun and passion that the Dominican Republic plays with.

When playfully asked if players could please carry over the emotion of the WBC into the big league schedule, Rodriguez smiled and said "I think we're going to have a lot of that in the big leagues, I just feel like we can't be having people mad for us showing our personalities when we step up to the field. That's the only thing I have to say."

It's true that not everyone appreciates the style and flair that comes with the WBC, but it really is one of the best parts of the tournament as a whole, and each country and culture comes with their own brand of playing the game. It's part of the reason why the tournament has found so much success worldwide, especially in the last decade.

Frankly, the major league game would be more exciting with more of that passion. It's certainly unsustainable for a full 162-game schedule, but sprinkled in it makes for a more actionable product.

Rodriguez and the Dominican Republic are 3-0 and have advanced to the elimination stage of the tournament. They will finish pool play on Wednesday against Venezuela (8 p.m. ET). Venezuela has also advanced, with the loser of this matchup playing Japan in the next round.

He will re-join the Mariners at the conclusion of the tournament run. The finals are March 17 and Opening Day against the Cleveland Guardians is March 26 at T-Mobile Park. Other Mariners are candidates to advance to the elimination round, including Cal Raleigh and Gabe Speier (USA), Eduard Bazardo (Venezuela), Josh Naylor (Canada), Randy Arozarena and Andres Munoz (Mexico), Dominic Canzone (Italy) and Miles Mastrobuoni (Italy). Dane Dunning (Korea) has already advanced.

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