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I’m not going to start with a fairy tale. Life isn’t always like this. I want to start with something real. Let’s start with the story of 0 vs. 5.
Early last season we played at home against Rangers. That was in April. I made my MLB debut two weeks ago – one of the greatest days of my life, and something I was able to celebrate with my entire family. I was settled into the big league world, absorbed in it all. It was all good, you know?? But this game, man, I’m telling you… I think about it a lot. I started out with four strokes, and in my last game at bat I made contact with the ball for the first time that night. I was mad at that jumble box. I swung hard. It hit a drive line into the left center gap. I was flying below the baseline. Triple or inside the park for sure, I believed. Then I saw Adolis García catch Superman for stealing me. We lost 8-6. I was 0 for 5. Four Kansas. batting 136 in 12 games.
I understood it was April. I knew I was a beginner. I got it. But it’s one thing to hear people say that to you, and quite another to believe it. Likes truly charity. It didn’t feel too early for me. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity all my life. Since I was hitting tennis balls, my dad saved money to go back to the Dominican Republic. Since I’ve been playing with Hot Wheels on the floor. Since I’ve been pretending to be Ichiro in Loma de Cabrera. It wasn’t early to me. He was just in time. And I wanted to give it to the people of Seattle. I wanted to show them who I could be.
I’m not going to start with a fairy tale. Life isn’t always like this.
– Julio Rodriguez
I came home that night and watched my bats. I kept looking at the clock beside my bed. It was one in the morning, then two, then three. And I was watching different twists of mine, even good ones from other games, just looking for anything to help me. I probably watched 500 somersaults that night before I passed out. I got to the park the next day and found my hitting coach and said, “What are we going to do? I know I can do this…. What am I missing?” We chatted a bit. Some technical stuff, some mental stuff. But what really happened is this: trust. I believed in myself my whole life. My family instilled that in me. And I have always been confident that the work I do will pay off. But faith and trust are different from confidence. For me, confidence is something else.
It’s a word that meant a lot to me during my time in Seattle.
I want to tell you why.
I know I’m not the first Dominican player to reach the big leagues like I did. There have been many before me, and there will be many after me. But do you know what we all have in common? At some point, as young adults, we just had to do it jump – We had to trust those around us. Our parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, and friends of friends. anyone. We had to hope they had our best interests at heart. Because it takes a village to make a footballer in the Dominican Republic. I’ve seen kids like me, kids with real talent, get lost along the way because they didn’t have the right people around them. But I was lucky. I had my dad. He was a ball player in the past, and I think that’s where my passion for the game comes from. And my mom made sure that I treated everyone well and played the right way.
They helped me see people for what they really are. And when I was considering my options for coming to America, I wanted to be around good the people. The more time I spent talking with the sailors, the more I began to feel something really special growing. In one of our conversations, they said something that really stuck with me: “We don’t want you to be anything other than the person you say you’ll be.” They looked at me, a sixteen-year-old kid, and trusted whom I I thought I could be. This is confidence. get me?? this trust.
And I felt that confidence every step of the way to the Mariners’ debut this past spring in Minnesota. The team were absolutely amazing with my family, making them feel right at home being able to see me. To see our dreams come true. I remember so much of that day because for me and my family? that was He. She. you understand?? This is what we dream about every night when we go to sleep. This is what we worked for when we got up. On every trip my dad made to Dajabon to get tennis balls – that’s what he was for. He and I used to have this little routine before trials or big matches or something. When I said goodbye to my family before I went to the hideout, I would finally talk to my dad. He will get my right opinion and hug me. And that day in Minnesota, when I was leaving the hotel after saying goodbye to everyone who came to be with me, my dad finally came to be with me.
On every trip my dad made to Dajabon to get tennis balls – that’s what he was for.
– Julio Rodriguez
He looked at me and just said, “I can’t believe we’ve come this far.”
And then he hugged me with the biggest hug and started crying. He sacrificed a lot for me. He had debts and he stretched himself too much to give me a chance to get to that point. I remember back in 2017, before my signing bonus arrived, we were in a tough spot financially. It all hinged on getting a hold fast. We were barely making ends meet and living day to day. But my father kept dreaming with me. And that morning in Minnesota…. I felt it all in his embrace.
That day for me marked the end of a journey and the beginning of something completely new.
I remember that before the game, Mitch Hanegger talked to me in front of everyone.
“Julio, you will never have another first appearance. This is it. This is it for you day. So enjoy it man. We fall into everything. manipulate. I listen. be yourself. Nobody will tell you anything.”
So I allowed myself to be me. This is what I’ve tried to do all year. That’s what I felt like Seattle wanted me to do. And when it got tough, and there were bad stretches, I had to trust myself – in those around me. The day after losing to the Rangers in April, after I spoke with my hitting coach, I just tried to slow it all down. I got two hits in the next game, and two more in one after that. Then I started to get some confidence, and I really felt like the city was starting to get behind us as a team. As a rookie, you know, you come to the show with some personal goals, right? You want to stay ahead, you want to prove to everyone who helped you that you can do it, all of it. But I’d be lying if I said everyone in our club wasn’t thinking about the drought in March, in April, in May. We wanted to break it down so bad.
And that became all I wanted. I felt part of something that connected generations of Mariners fans. I would go out to the stadium every day and see that look on their faces, that desire to see a good football club. That became a part of me. And all the guys in our room too. I remember back towards the end of June, when things weren’t going well and we were just under . 500 a game, we were in Anaheim for the weekend series. I won’t go into the whole thing – everyone remembers. We got into a good fight and there was a lot both teams said and did. But that moment meant a lot to our club because then we all realized that we were really in this together – that we support each other, regardless. It may sound silly, but if we could fight for each other…. Then we can play hard for each other. And we can turn this thing around.
People ask me all the time what our fans are like, or what the stadium was like during the play-offs. I’m not going to sit here and tell you how they are the “loudest” or “craziest” or anything else. Nothing to do with that. I’ve been in the league for a year. Mariners fans are all I really know. Yes, we’ve been to some boisterous parks and all that, but it’s different when you’re a visitor. All I can say is that there is an emotional connection in our garden that you just have to experience to truly understand. Going out to the field for the big matches…. Oh man, I’m just going to get this feeling. It would start at my ankles, up my legs, through my back and only then bam – this energy bolt through my body. And I’d take that and I’d run with it all night. I was looking around the garden…and I felt, I’m supposed to be here.
There is an emotional connection in our garden that you just have to experience to truly understand it.
– Julio Rodriguez
I was in the back of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse with my agent at the end of August, and that’s what I was thinking. that energy. He was telling me about the contract, all the details, and I wanted that energy forever. I’ll be honest, I never thought twice about another club or future anywhere other than Seattle. I don’t care if people believe it. Mariners took a chance on me all those years ago. They let me be I. Other clubs have their chance. I was still Julio at that time. Seattle saw it before anyone else. I will always appreciate that. And one more thing: me happy here. Every time I’m in the stadium, every time I’m walking around town, every time I look at the Space Needle and I remember The Jetsons The cartoons I used to watch on the living room floor – I remembered how happy I was here.
I think people are sometimes lost trying to get more and more. And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to get better, or help the team play baseball in late October—that’s my biggest goal.
But the man…. When do you find something good? something you like? hold on to it do not let her go.
And I love Seattle.
his homeland.
I feel embraced here, and I know how this city treats people who give their all.
The night Ichiro was inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame, I was fortunate enough to talk to him and take part in the ceremony. (I was the flower boy. I brought him flowers. It was one of the greatest honors of my career so far. Really.) I remember seeing our crew members, our fans, with tears in their eyes when Ichiro was rolling on the big screen and while he was speaking. He meant so much to everyone in town – to every Mariners fan around the world – and I was in awe of him.
During his speech, he talked about his new role with the team and being a mentor to the next generation. He said, “I want our players to know: I am with you in your fight to be the best.” And he looked at the bunker, and maybe I’m crazy, but I felt that he was looking at me. And the moment kind of hit me. I knew I wanted to finish what he started here.
I have such tremendous respect for him, and cherish him for picking his mind and getting to know him more. His work ethic, his diligence and his love for craft – He’s in our club. We take it with us wherever we go. And we have places we want to go.
When do you find something good? something you like? hold on to it do not let her go. And I love Seattle.
– Julio Rodriguez
That feeling we all had when Cal finished his swing, and put his club up into the sky? That’s what it’s all about there. Ending the drought the way we did it, man, in front of all of you on our court? I will remember that forever. I think about that all the time. Not just because the moment was great, but because that atmosphere, that electricity, that’s what we want. That’s what we need to remember with every rep in the spring, every hitch along the way this season. we Known We can do it. We’ve seen it. And we know we can move forward with that, too.
I am honored to know that I will be a sailor for a long time. I know what it means to wear this shirt. What we got…. This is us, Seattle. I wholeheartedly appreciate the trust you have placed in me from the moment I came to America. I really. And I trusted you again to help me grow, support me, and make me the person I always wanted to be.
So we’ll do the next part together.
I can’t wait to see you in the park.
-Julio
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