One home run away from 30-30
Only three players in history have accomplished that before age 23
Batting .282 with 29 home runs and 95 RBIs this year
Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez (22) hit his 29th home run of the season, putting him one home run away from joining the 30 (home runs)-30 (stolen bases) club.
Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI in the No. 2 spot in the lineup against MLB’s Tampa Bay on Tuesday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Rodriguez hit his 29th home run of the season with two outs in the top of the first inning with the bases loaded for a 3-1 lead. The left fielder caught a 134 mph slider from opposing right-handed starter Aaron Sabean as it hit the dome’s ceiling, and the umpires ruled it a home run. The estimated distance was 114 meters and the launch angle was 42 degrees.
Rodriguez needs just one more home run in Seattle’s remaining 20 games to become just the second player in franchise history to reach the 30-30 plateau. The first was Alex Rodriguez in 1998 (42 homers-46 doubles).
If 2000-born Julio Rodriguez reaches 30-30 this season, he will become the fourth player in franchise history to do so, joining Alex Rodriguez, Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves). Last year, he became the first pure rookie in history to hit 25 home runs and 25 doubles, and last month he reached the 50-homer plateau in just 256 games in the big leagues, surpassing franchise legends Alex Rodriguez (269 games) and Ken Griffey Jr. (377 games).
Rodriguez, a native of the Dominican Republic, signed with Seattle in 2017 for $1.75 million. After hitting .28 with 28 homers, 75 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 132 games last year, Seattle offered him a mega-long term contract worth up to $470 million over 17 years. That’s $210 million guaranteed. The size of Rodriguez’s contract will depend on whether he wins the MVP award and how the voting goes.카지노
Rodriguez hit a home run against South Korea’s Kim Min-woo (Hanwha Eagles) at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and will represent the Dominican Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Rodriguez is still in good form this season, batting .282 with 29 home runs and 95 RBIs in 135 games.
Hyungseok Lee