After a horrible start to the 2022 MLB season, the Seattle Mariners now find themselves right back in the thick of the postseason race.
A 14-game winning streak has gotten them to within nine games of the Houston Astros in the AL West and back into playoff position, as they currently sit in the second Wild Card spot.
One of the keys to their run has been the emergence of Julio Rodriguez.
“J-Rod,” as he’s often referred to, has some pretty amazing stats this season.
One Mariners fan took a picture of a comparison between Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., and Alex Rodriguez‘s stats through the first 89 games of their careers, and let’s just say that Rodriguez is in some elite company.
Now that’s company #Mariners pic.twitter.com/FiLi2K21xc
— Jake N (@jakehomers2411) July 17, 2022
J-Rod Makes History
Rodriguez is off to a blazing hot start in his career and has found himself in some legendary company with another Rodriguez, who certainly made his mark in Mariners history.
He has a higher slugging percentage than A-Rod or Ken Griffey Jr. did through their first 89 games.
He also has more home runs, RBI, and stolen bases than either of these greats did through the first 89 games of their careers.
That’s not too shabby.
He’s been a major key to the Mariners turnaround this year.
He was brought up to provide the team with a spark at the beginning of the year and he has done just that.
A couple games have passed since the tweet showing the stats between Rodriguez and the other two Mariners greats.
Rodriguez is still hitting .275 with 16 home runs, but is now up to 52 RBI on the season and has an OPS of .814.
That was enough to land him a spot on the American League All-Star Game roster.
NEXT: The Mariners Make MLB History Heading Into The Break