Looking for revenge: Julio Rodriguez looks to win home run derby in his home ballpark
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – As we approach the month of July, announcements and news regarding the midsummer classic are being released, including participants in different events throughout the course of All-Star week that’s being held here in Seattle at T-Mobile Park. While he won’t be a starter in the game itself this year, Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodriguez will be participating in the home run derby, aiming to avenge the loss he took to Juan Soto last year at Dodger stadium. Jrod looks to go from runner-up to champion in his home ballpark, while also looking to avoid any sort of injury that would make him miss extended time as the Mariners look to reach the postseason for a second consecutive year.
Unfinished business
Last year, Rodriguez was easily the brightest star in the show and arguably should have won the derby, had it not been for the way that it’s currently set up. Julio did hit more homers than eventual champion Juan Soto, but the homers per round was ultimately what decided the winner. Soto hit one more homer than Rodriguez in the final round, taking home the hardware at Dodger stadium despite Julio being the one who really set off the fireworks of the night. Rodriguez was able to get strong margins against his first two opponents, beating Corey Seager by eight and Pete Alonso by nine. In year two, with that previous experience under his belt and now in his home ballpark that he’s plenty familiar with, Julio has a solid chance to avenge his loss and turn his runner-up status into derby winner.
“He put on quite a show last year. He’s good at it. He likes the lights rightly upon him. Being in our home park in front of our fans, I think it’s great. It’s great for our fan base. It’s great for Julio. He will represent the Mariners very well.”
Some of Julio Rodriguez’s best moments through the 2023 season till this point (Photos by Liv Lyons)
Overcoming a slow start
While he isn’t necessarily on some sort of ridiculous pace at this current moment, hitting at a .274 average over the past 30 games, Rodriguez is in a much better place at the plate than he was when the season began. Julio appeared to be in a sophomore slump to begin the year, like how the entire Mariners lineup has been this year in the batter's box, but has been able to turn things up since around the month of May beginning. All of that considered, Julio ranks among the top ten percent in average exit velocity, showing that his batting average isn’t necessarily indicative of the sort of luck that he’s seen this season. That factor, his incredible performance last season, and the sort of star power that the outfielder from Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic brings to this sport are why Rodriguez will be participating in this year's event. The fact that it’s at T-Mobile Park helps too, I’m sure.
Some of the best moments of Julio Rodriguez’s 2023 season so far to this point (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Risk factor?
With the home run derby comes a bit of caution, considering the amount of strain that you can put onto your body with the force required to hit so many homers in a short period of time. In recent years, it’s been common for many superstars to flat out skip the event due to their fear of injury that may affect them for the rest of the regular season, hurting their team's playoff chances. Last year, after cranking out those 81 homers, Julio did battle some injuries over the course of the second half, including wrist and back pains. It’s currently unclear if Rodriguez will take precautionary measures to ensure that he isn’t slowed down by injuries caused by the derby this year, considering his experience this past year I’d expect Julio to have something in place for him to be good for the remainder of the regular season.
“I was so excited. I feel like it’ll be like a dream coming true. L.A. was cool, I enjoyed it, but being able to be at home and put on a show for the Mariners fans, I know it’ll be really exciting.”
“It was a no-brainer for me. This will probably never happen again in my career, so to be able to do that for them, on the home field, it definitely will be something that I am looking forward to.”
Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodriguez against the LA Angels on April 5th (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Can Julio capture the crown?
For obvious reasons, I want to go with yes, I believe that Julio Rodriguez will be able to capture the home run derby crown this year. That includes the fact that his throwing partner from last season that many of the all-stars in appearance were impressed with, Franmy Pena (a friend of Julio’s), will be back again this year to deliver balls to Rodriguez. The power, displayed in the average exit velocity that I mentioned earlier, is obvious for Julio, who currently sits at 12 homers and 27 total extra base hits. Rodriguez will play in his home ballpark, vowing to fans that he will do his best to get things done in front of them, as it’s likely that he won’t get another chance to have this exact scenario take place once again. And the last factors that lead me to believe that Rodriguez winning is a plausible and realistic option are the incredible opportunity for Julio to use this event as a launching point for the rest of his season and the storybook capabilities at play. Sports have a fun way of having things align perfectly to tell brilliant tales, and the pieces are potentially in play for Julio here.