J-Rod looking to play hometown hero in '23 HR Derby

NEW YORK -- Julio Rodríguez’s true emergence on baseball’s global stage occurred last year during an electric Home Run Derby performance at Dodger Stadium. Seattle’s star center fielder crushed a whopping 81 dingers -- as a rookie -- and drew awe from the millions who tuned in, but even more so, from his All-Star peers while finishing runner-up.

Now, Rodríguez will look to take the Derby crown -- and he’ll do so in his own backyard.

The 22-year-old Mariners star announced Friday via social media that he will take part in this year’s event at T-Mobile Park. He’s the first official participant among the eight-player field set to take the stage on Monday, July 10. Franmy Peña, Rodríguez's friend, will pitch to Julio again, as he did last year.

“I was so excited. I feel like it’ll be like a dream coming true," Rodríguez said. "L.A. was cool, I enjoyed it, but being able to be at home and put on a show for the Mariners fans, I know it’ll be really exciting.

“It was a no-brainer for me. This will probably never happen again in my career, so to be able to do that for them, on the home field, it definitely will be something that I am looking forward to.”

• 2023 T-Mobile Home Run Derby

Rodríguez had long seemed destined for this Derby since Seattle was awarded this year’s Midsummer Classic in September 2021, well before he debuted in the Majors seven months later.

Back then, he’d already exhibited the kind of power, charisma and flair as the franchise’s most prominent face of the future -- and he went on to live up to those lofty expectations en route to winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award last season, with the Derby arguably his biggest individual highlight in a year full of them.

His quick ascent, his performance last year and that the host city typically always has a representative in the sport’s premier power event made him a strong candidate to be invited.

"He put on quite a show last year," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "He's good at it. He likes the lights rightly upon him. Being in our home park in front of our fans, I think it's great. It's great for our fan base. It's great for Julio. He will represent the Mariners very well."

The last time it was held in Seattle, in 2001, Bret Boone competed. The Derby didn’t exist the only other year in which the Emerald City hosted the Midsummer Classic, in 1979 at the Kingdome.

With Boone, who also participated in 2003, Rodríguez is one of just seven Mariners participants all-time, along with Jay Buhner (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Edgar Martinez (2000), Robinson Canó (2016) and -- of course -- Ken Griffey Jr., who did it a whopping seven times and is the only three-time winner.

Rodríguez will become the first Mariner to participate in the Derby in back-to-back seasons since Griffey did it for three straight years, from 1997 to '99. Griffey won it in ‘98 and ‘99.

Rodríguez has Derby experience, but he’ll still be among the event’s youngest all time. At 22 years, 6 months, 12 days on July 10, Rodríguez would be the youngest Derby winner, besting Juan González, who was 23 years and 265 days old when he won in 1993. Juan Soto, who edged Rodríguez last year, is the second-youngest by just one day (23 years, 266 days).

Speaking of last year, Soto might’ve taken home the hardware, but Rodríguez was easily the event’s biggest star. He knocked out two-time defending champion Pete Alonso, and by virtue of the round-by-round formatting, Rodríguez hit 28 more total homers than Soto, 81 to 53, though Soto outpaced Rodríguez in the final round, 19 to 18.

“That was so fun. That was so, so fun. I can definitely say that my family enjoyed it the most," Rodríguez said. "They’ve been with me since I was a little kid. Being able to see me back there [at home] taking BP and then seeing me do it in front of 40,000 people. I know they definitely enjoyed it the most.”

When Rodríguez announced that he was participating last year as a rookie, he’d already been selected to the All-Star Game. That’s not the case this year, at least yet. He didn't advance to Phase 2 of All-Star voting, which begins Monday, but it’s still possible he can get in via other avenues.

Rodríguez entered Friday hitting .238/.300/.415 (.715 OPS) with 12 homers. He’s had some huge moments in his sophomore season while also experiencing more inconsistencies at the plate, an up-and-down trajectory that has mirrored the overall showing of the Mariners, who are in fourth place in the AL West and have hovered around .500 for most of the year.