The Seattle Mariners may never have appeared in the World Series, but for decades they have been one of the baseball teams with some of the most creative television commercials.
Felix Hernandez took to the mound as Larry Bernandez, a glasses-and-mutton-chop alter-ego, to earn his second spot in the rotation.
Or Hall of Fame designated hitter Edgar Martinez, making lamps out of bats in a hardware store. “That’s a light bat,” Edgar exclaimed.
This year, center fielder Julio Rodriguez can be seen waving a pink flyswatter around the clubhouse, swinging aimlessly to the incessant buzzer.
Suddenly, a hand appears from the corner of the screen, clutching a fly ball between thumb and index finger. The camera pans back to show franchise legend Ichiro Suzuki, who crosses his arms, pats them down, just like Rodriguez does on the field after a catch, and says, “No fly zone, huh?”
The commercial ends with Rodriguez sitting in the locker room while Ichiro grabs it, throws it on the floor, and demonstrates to J-Rod the two-finger fly-catching technique again until Ichiro can copy the move.
The commercial was meant to portray Rodriguez’s defense.
Coincidentally, the moment foreshadowed Rodriguez’s struggles at the plate this season, as he charged to the plate as the pitcher hit him high and hard with a fastball, then blasted a string of curveballs low and outside. Whether it was a flyswatter or a trademark Victas Julio wooden bat, the 2024 season was a strikeout for Rodriguez.
The Mariners have held a 10-game lead atop the AL West for the past two months, but their key hitter is hitting just .247/.296/.632 with eight homers and 30 RBIs — a testament to the strength of their pitching staff.
until now.
Cracks are starting to show. The Mariners were just 6 for 55 through 13 games, with no extra base hits or RBIs, and lost their 10th straight game, falling to two games behind the Houston Astros, who have won six straight division titles, for the AL West lead.
“We need everybody to step up and contribute offensively, not just one person,” said Mariners manager Scott Servais, whose team is batting .216, worst in the major leagues, and on track to set a single-season record for most strikeouts. “But Julio is our main guy.”
Rodriguez’s swing is starting to heat up just in time for his game against the Seattle Mariners. Photo credit: Getty Images Rodriguez, a Silver Slugger Award winner each of his first two seasons, has been working hard at the batting cages with Mariners hitting coach Jarrett DeHart, Martinez and his personal coach, Osvaldo Diaz, whom the team recently brought in from Tampa, Florida.
“We’re getting closer,” Diaz told The Seattle Times. “The more attention we can get, the better. I’ve had four or five years with Julio, before he’s Rookie of the Year (in 2022). He trusts me a lot. I like what we’re building. I’m confident.”
Diaz said the coaching brain trust has been working with J-Rod on timing, balance and getting his feet more involved in his swing.
“We all have good times and bad times,” Diaz says. “It’s how you finish that counts.”
Rodriguez has always been a slow starter, but the season is more than halfway over now.
The Puget Sound saltwater layer has disappeared, and Mariners fans are beginning to wonder if major league pitchers have figured out the darling of the past two Home Run Derbys (including last year’s game at T-Mobile Park), and that’s all they can hope for from No. 44.
Though it’s relatively late, there’s still time for Rodriguez to come to the rescue.
They say summer doesn’t start in Seattle until the 4th of July.
If that happens, there is hope for the Mariners and Rodriguez.
During the daytime performance on holidays, Rodriguez hit a 428-foot home run off Orioles ace Corbin Burnes. With a 0-2 count, he hit a double in the seventh inning to tie the game and spark a five-run comeback that ended Seattle’s four-game losing streak and led to a 7-3 victory.
“Sometimes you have to go through some tough times to wake up,” Rodriguez said, dodging questions about the changes he made. “I just went out there and didn’t really think about my swing or what’s happened in the last two months. You can’t change the past. All you can control is this moment. You just go out there and do your best. That’s what got me into the sport.”
After hitting a double and stealing third base, Rodriguez rose to his feet, yelled, slapped his hands and let out his pent-up frustration.
“His aggression was contagious,” said Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford, who broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run double moments later. “His aggression definitely fired me up. I think it fired up the whole team. He fired up everybody.”
Servais added: “We ask a lot of him. I just want him to be himself. He doesn’t have to carry the team on his shoulders. It’s OK to show emotions. It’s OK to be upset when a game goes wrong or something like that. It’s normal. And hopefully today will lighten the mood for him.”
