While the Seattle Mariners lost to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday evening, center fielder Julio Rodríguez still found time to shine — both on the field and on his way off of it.
In the top of the sixth inning, Rodríguez homered to tie the game. The Orioles retook the lead in the bottom of the inning. Then in the seventh, were poised to add on.
With Baltimore up 4-3, first baseman Ryan O’Hearn came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and a man on. It looked as though O’Hearn would add to the Orioles lead with a two-run homer. Rodríguez, though, tracked the ball down, then made a leaping grab at the wall to rob O’Hearn.
Julio Rodríguez. Fielding Ninja. 🥷 pic.twitter.com/6rx7Yv3OnF
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 24, 2023
Rodríguez, though, wasn’t done.
As he came off of the field, Rodríguez saw a young fan sitting near the Mariners dugout, wearing his jersey. Rodríguez walked over to the fan and gave him the ball. The kid, understandably, had a huge smile on his face. But Rodríguez not only made the day of his young fan, but also the young fan’s father, who gave his son a big hug in celebration.
.@JRODshow44 knows what it's all about. #BiggerThanBaseball pic.twitter.com/dImgJniaMm
— MLB (@MLB) June 24, 2023
Baseball fans were blown away by the sweet moment, giving Rodríguez a lot of well-earned praise.
BASEBALL IS THE BEST https://t.co/ejQONYYXMA
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 24, 2023
Well done, J Rod! https://t.co/0zh9QLd5bp
— Zig Fracassi (@ZigSportsVoice) June 24, 2023
https://twitter.com/wHHySoSeRi0us/status/1672742131293724672
Love this https://t.co/J26otwWzGL
— Ernie Green 〽️ (@RealErnieGreen) June 24, 2023
Baseball is so freakin cool because a $7 ball is priceless to kids, especially when it comes from their favorite player. These moments never get old! https://t.co/QVuH6XgSMR
— Theron Smith (@TheronASmith) June 24, 2023
[MLB, Photo Credit: Root Sports Northwest]
