Seattle, WA
Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez shares advice Ichiro gave him that ‘clicked’
It took only one 12 months for younger Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez to determine himself as an MLB famous person.
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If that sounds acquainted, that’s as a result of the identical factor occurred again in 2001 with Ichiro Suzuki.
Rodríguez, now 22, burst onto the scene final 12 months to win American League Rookie of the Yr honors. He additionally made the All-Star Sport, ending second within the Dwelling Run Derby and main the Mariners to their first playoff look since Ichiro’s rookie marketing campaign greater than 20 years earlier than.
With superstardom comes further consideration, which Rodríguez is actually getting because the face of Topps baseball playing cards for the beginning of 2023. Rodríguez has a Mariners legend to lean on in Ichiro, nevertheless, who turned a global sensation himself with the M’s when he received Rookie of the Yr and MVP in the identical season. Ichiro remains to be across the crew repeatedly, and through an look with Seattle Sports activities’ Brock and Salk, Rodríguez shared a key factor he’s realized from Ichiro on the subject of dealing with stardom.
Right here’s the quote from Rodríguez:
I talked to Ichiro about it. I used to be curious and I requested the query, and he principally mentioned one thing alongside the strains of, ‘Folks may take a look at you completely different, however you may by no means take a look at your self completely different.’ At any time when he informed me that, it type of clicked in my head, like, OK, whoever needs to see me completely different due to what I’m doing on the sector or what I’m doing off the sector or no matter, that’s their deal. And the way in which that I take a look at myself and the way in which that I’m going about my work, and the way in which that I’m going about my apply, about my preparation and all that, that’s my deal, that’s my selection, and that can’t be impacted by anyone or by every other method that individuals are me.
So I really feel like every time he mentioned that, it type of struck me as OK, folks’s perspective about me can change and so they can take a look at me completely different, however what I see from myself and the place I wish to go can by no means change. That’s one thing that I’ve actually taken to coronary heart and I’m gonna hold residing by.
Take heed to the complete interview with Rodríguez at this hyperlink, within the audio participant under or within the video above.
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