It's easy to forget this now, given all the good things that happened with Julio Rodríguez and his team over the past few months, but the Mariners' star center fielder didn't exactly get off to the best start to the 2025 season. After a 2-1 loss to Houston on May 24, Rodríguez was hitting just .227 with nine home runs and six stolen bases. Even at the All-Star break, he opted to skip the Midsummer Classic to rest and mentally reset.
But all of that is an afterthought now. Rodríguez stole his 29th and 30th bases in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Dodgers; combined with his 32 homers, which match a career high, he joined the 30-30 Club for the second time in his career. J-Rod had 32 homers and 37 steals in 2023.
Rodríguez is now the seventh MLB player to achieve the 30-30 milestone in 2025, which extends the record for the most players to do it in one season. The previous high-water mark had been four 30-30 Club members, achieved in the 1987, 1996, 1997, 2011 and 2023 seasons.
Rodríguez particularly flourished in the second half, hitting .290 with a .901 OPS and 19 homers since the break.
“It's very easy to shy away when things are not going right,” Rodríguez said on Saturday. “But I feel like that's just not me. Regardless of what happens, I'm always going to continue to move forward.”
After Saturday, Rodríguez had played in all but one of the Mariners’ 161 games while logging 1,406 1/3 innings in the field, third-most in MLB -- his durability a key factor in allowing him to achieve the statistical milestone. That style of play could be hugely valuable in the postseason, where every base matters.
“This is what got us here,” Rodríguez said. “Like, there's no way that we're going to change it. We're not going to try to be a different team or like try to play safe. Obviously, we're going to be smart, like when to run and all that. But I think we're going to be aggressive.”