Julio Rodriguez: Superstar on and off the field

BURIEN, Wash. — You all know the incredible things that Julio Rodriguez does in a Mariners uniform on the field. The mind-boggling catches, the speed around the bases, and a powerful swing are enough to wow Mariners fans for years to come.

What he does away from T-Mobile Park is somehow just as impressive.

Rodriguez started the Julio Rodriguez No Limits Foundation, which is meant to help kids from underserved communities in his native Dominican Republic play sports. The goal is to allow the kids to have "no limits" when it comes to opportunities in youth sports among other noble endeavors.

Donations have come from Mariners fans all over the area but also from youth teams that banded together, like the Sammamish Little Leaguers. Those young stars donated plenty of equipment and toys for the kids.

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Rodriguez was in Seattle at Rairdon Honda of Burien on Thursday, a collection site of sporting goods for his foundation. Rodriguez came to gather those items to make sure they got to kids in need this holiday season.

But he got something for himself too: a feeling of love from the greater Seattle community.

It means the world," Rodriguez said.

"[Mariners fans are] so open and willing to support this cause, support a lot of people in need that this is going to get to," Rodriguez added. "Just to see how much, if we get together, how much we can impact other people's lives who are in need."

Like we said, superstar on and off the field.

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"I come from Loma de Cabrera," Rodriguez said of his hometown, a small city near the border with Haiti. "It's a place where we don't have all this. We don't have access to a lot of equipment."

"So I feel like me knowing that, having to go through that, I feel like it motivated me to kind of give back," Rodriguez added. "Give back to the people in sports and help out with different causes here in Seattle too. With this cause right now, we're going to be able to give so many different toys and baseball equipment to definitely different people in need."

It's interesting to think that the 2024 season was just the third full campaign for Rodriguez in the Major Leagues. Yet, he's already shouldering this kind of work off the field—and has been for much of that time.

You may think the two aspects are separate: charity work in the community and putting a baseball bat in your hands in a stadium.

The reality is, at least for someone as special as Rodriguez, the two go hand-in-hand—or hand-in-mitt.

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Just seeing the love that [Seattle] is showing me also motivated me even more to to be in top shape to be doing the best that I can on the field," Rodriguez said. "Because I just know that we're all together in this, just like kind of how we're having a great cause all together here. [It] just kind of motivates me to to show up even more for them."

During the 2022 season, Rodriguez signed a massive contract extension with the Mariners that keeps him here through at least 2029, but possibly as long as even 2036 if all options are exercised.

Rodriguez has known from the start as a 21-year-old rookie that Seattle meant a lot to him and he wanted to be a beacon of good in the community for a long time.

"I feel like we all love where we are right now," Rodriguez said when talking about the upcoming 2025 Mariners team. "We have such a unique team in the way that we feel and I just feel like we're gonna be a tough team."

"We're gonna be a tough team," Rodriguez said. "Yeah, I'm excited to see that."

Rodriguez and I shared a fun moment where we talked about how my three-year-old son loves to wear the #44 Mariners City Connect jersey that we bought him.

Seeing the pure joy and emotion on Rodriguez's face while he looked at the photo I showed him was special. It was genuine.

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It was genuine despite the fact that he's well aware thousands of people of all ages wear that jersey every night. It was genuine because every single Seattle fan means something to Rodriguez.

It's why this is just the beginning of a beautiful story with a city and its superstar.

"I'm so blessed and grateful to be able to inspire and motivate so many people. And have little kids running around in my jersey," Rodriguez said. "That's something that I've never really thought while I was in Loma de Cabrera."

"It was just like a dream," Rodriguez added. "And I feel like being able to see all those things, I feel it really fills me with a lot of joy and motivation to continue to keep going. To keep doing the right thing, to just keep motivating people and generations."