Julio Rodriguez, the Seattle Mariners’ next franchise star, made history.
Rodriguez went 1-for-5 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored while batting second in the lineup against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.
After reaching base on a grounder to shortstop in his first at-bat, Rodriguez led off the fourth inning with a home run. He drove a 95.4 mph (about 153 km/h) two-seam fastball from reliever Daniel Duarte over the right-center field fence.
Rodriguez struck out in his next three at-bats, but his home run made a big splash. It was Rodriguez’s 25th home run of the season. It was his second straight year with 25 home runs and 25 doubles.
Julio Rodriguez/Getty Images Korea
Julio Rodriguez/Getty Images Korea
In his major league debut last season, Rodriguez hit .284 with 28 homers, 75 RBIs, 84 runs scored, 25 doubles, and a .854 OPS in 132 games, winning the American League Rookie of the Year award.
먹튀검증The momentum continued this season. In 130 games, he has 157 hits, 25 home runs, 89 RBIs, 84 runs scored, 36 doubles, a .284 OPS and a .827 slugging percentage.
“Rodriguez became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 25 home runs and 25 doubles in his first two seasons,” said Sarah Lance of MLB.com, the official site of Major League Baseball.
Julio Rodriguez./Getty Images Korea
Julio Rodriguez/Getty Images Korea
Julio Rodriguez/Getty Images Korea
Rodriguez needs four more steals this season to reach the 40-steal plateau. ”Rodriguez could become the fourth player to hit 25 homers and steal 40 bases at age 22 or younger, joining Alex Rodriguez (42 homers, 46 steals) in 1998, Cesar Cedeño (25 homers, 56 steals) in 1973 and Mike Trout (30 homers, 49 steals) in 2012,” according to MLB.com.
Seattle manager Scott Servais said of Rodriguez’s performance, “He was dynamic. It’s been great to watch.”
Rodriguez is the future of Seattle. He signed a maximum 18-year, $470 million contract last season. Seattle’s franchise star has made history in just his second year. It will be interesting to see how many more records he breaks in the future.
Julio Rodriguez./Getty Images Korea