Seattle Mariners Outfielder Julio Rodriguez Makes MLB History
The Seattle Mariners kept their plyoff hopes alive with an 8-1 win against the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
The victory gave the Mariners the series win against the Astros and also kept their playoff hopes alive. But there's still a possibility they could get eliminated based on whether the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers both win on Wednesday and Thursday.
Seattle will have to wait and see whether or not the playoffs are still on the table when they return to T-Mobile Park for a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics on Friday.
But one Mariners player made sure to etch his name into the MLB history books before the end of the season.
Seattle's face of the franchise Julio Rodriguez hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth to ice the game, but it also put him in very exclusive company.
That's @JRODshow44's third-straight 2️⃣0️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣ season! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/MvgDZ1sGGg
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 25, 2024
That homer was Rodriguez's 20th of the season and guaranteed him his third straight 20-home run, 20-steal season. That made him just one of two players in MLB history along with Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals to achieve that feat in their first three major league seasons.
Rodriguez received some national recognition for the feat from MLB's official "X" account.
Julio Rodríguez has played three Major League seasons.
— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2024
He's reached 20 HR and 20 SB in all three 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/biE7tRdJVd
Rodriguez's home run bounced off the left-center field wall back into the field. And Rodriguez made sure to get back the history-making ball.
History for Julio!@JRODshow44 becomes the second player in @MLB history to have 20+ HRs and 20 + SBs in their first three seasons. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/1LDasfBeDO
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 25, 2024
Rodriguez accomplished this feat just two days after he was named the American League Player of the Week. He's batting .274 this season with 67 RBIs and 24 steals to go with his 20 homers.
The Mariners are in an unfortunate scenario where they have to depend on multiple other teams to make the postseason. But if they do make it to October, Rodriguez's performance in September will have been a big reason why.
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