Julio Rodriguez expanded on the reasoning for his foundation name, and tied it back to his journey as a player
Seattle Mariners superstar Julio Rodriguez has had an amazing start to his career.
In his first four major league seasons, he's made the All-Star game three times, was the American League Rookie of the Year and helped guide the Mariners to their first two playoff appearances in over two decades.
Rodriguez helped break Seattle's then-21-year playoff drought in 2022 and played a major role in the M's winning their first American League West title advancing to the American League Championship Series this past season, both for the first time since 2001.
Rodriguez has been arguably the best center fielder in baseball since making his debut. He received a vote of confidence from the Mariners front office and was made the face of the franchise near the end of his rookie season with a 12-year, $209.3 million contract that could exceed $400 million with incentives and options.
Rodriguez's defense has become his calling card as a major leaguer. Often, Rodriguez will make an athletic catch in center field and flash an "X" sign with his arms. He coined the term "No Fly Zone," which is the name of the section in center field.
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As great as Rodriguez's catches in center field have been and as accustomed fans have become to them, most analysts didn't think that would be in the three-time All-Star's future.
Despite being regarded as one of the best prospects in baseball (No. 5 per 2021 MLB Pipeline top 100), most analysts projected Rodriguez as a plus-hitter and plus-runner who would play a corner infield position.
Here's what MLB Pipeline had to say in their 2021 scouting report of Rodriguez:
Just 20 for all of the 2021 season, Rodriguez has played both center and right field during his pro career. He can handle playing up the middle, but is better suited for a corner, where his plus arm plays well, especially given other personnel in the organization.
Rodriguez recently spoke to Yancen Pujols and discussed his personal story, while tying it into the name of his charity, "No Limits."
Rodriguez spoke in Spanish during the interview. The following translation was done by Master Flip (Masterflip_) on "X."
"Few people know this but I was never supposed to play center field. Not in the majors, not even in the minors. That's a story. No one, and I mean absolutely no one, ever pictured me playing center field in the majors. Scouts said I was too slow, a little overweight and that I was bound to lose steps but I refused to let anyone else write my story. I got on my grind, put in the work and proved them wrong. I hate when someone tries to box me in and say, 'This is what you are.' My response has always been simple: 'who are you?'
Hence the name of my foundation, No Limits."
Through his four-year career, Rodriguez has a career slash line of .274/.331/.469 with an .800 OPS. He's hit 110 doubles, nine Triple-A and 112 home runs with 341 RBIs in 590 games.
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