New Seattle Mariners Hitting Coach Discusses Working with Julio Rodriguez
The Seattle Mariners come into play on Friday night at 4.0 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West race. They are also 4.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the wild card race.
If Seattle is going to get hot and get into the playoffs for the second time in three years, then they are going to need superstar Julio Rodriguez to get scorching moving forward.
It's been a down year overall for Rodriguez, who has dealt with injury and inconsistency en route to a .253 average with 12 homers and 42 RBI. He missed nearly a month with injury from July-August and is just starting to look like himself again physically. He went 2-for-4 with a home run on Wednesday as the M's beat the Tampa Bay Rays.
If he can turn it around before season's end, the guidance of new M's hitting coach Edgar Martinez will likely be critical. The Hall of Famer was named hitting coach for the rest of the season after manager Scott Servais and hitting coach Jared DeHart were fired last week.
Martinez spoke on Friday on Seattle Sports 710 about working with Rodriguez and what it's like:
#Mariners hitting coach Edgar Martinez with when asked about what it's been like to work with Julio Rodriguez so far in his new role:
"The beginning hasn't been what he's used to, and what he's capable of, but I feel very confident that this last month he's going to have a very good month."
#Mariners hitting coach Edgar Martinez with when asked about what it's been like to work with Julio Rodriguez so far in his new role:
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) August 30, 2024
"The beginning hasn't been what he's used to, and what he's capable of, but I feel very confident that this last month he's going to have a very… pic.twitter.com/RadzbQwdZW
Martinez spent 18 years in the big leagues, all with Seattle. He was a seven-time All-Star and a two-time batting champion who had a lifetime on-base percentage of .418.
The Mariners will play the Los Angeles on Friday night at 6:38 p.m. PT.
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