Baseball has always been a part of Juan Rodríguez's life. From playing the game as a child through high school and volunteering at baseball events growing up, Rodríguez somehow always found his way back to America's pastime, in part through his Hispanic heritage.

"After getting hurt playing baseball, I wanted nothing to do with the sport," he said. "Then my junior year of college, I slowly got pulled back into the game. I realized that baseball was the only thing that made sense. It is the only thing I have ever known."

Rodríguez is in his fifth season with the Mariners and serves as the Senior Director of Ballpark Operations. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Rodríguez takes what he learned from his childhood into his leadership style at work.

"My background has a huge influence on my career and who I am," he said. "My Hispanic culture is very family oriented; it has to do with building relationships and understanding you can't fire your family. So, I use that in my day-to-day management style in working with our team."

After graduating from Florida International University in 2010, Rodríguez got an internship with the Pittsburgh Pirates through their Extended Catch program that provided opportunities for minorities.

With the Pirates there was not a job that Rodríguez did not do. From ticket sales, to working community service events, working in baseball and ballpark operations, to even being the mascot a few times, he always stepped up to the plate.

"I set out to understand what it was like to work in sports," said Rodríguez. "I didn't really know what to expect coming in. I had volunteered in sport activities when Miami hosted the Super Bowl, but I didn't really know what a career meant or looked like, especially coming out of college. So, I started with the Pirates and there I did everything."

From there, Rodríguez was hired full-time with the Pirates as the Coordinator of their Florida operations. In 2015, he received a call to work for the Los Angeles Dodgers and stayed with them until 2018 before coming to work for the Mariners.

"In 2018, I received the opportunity to work in the big leagues, which every kid dreams of," he said. "I rolled up here to the Mariners on the Monday before Opening Day. It was an eye-opening experience, and I can't believe it has been five seasons already, but it passes by quick."

At the Mariners, Rodríguez has made an impact not just within the ballpark but in the greater Seattle community. He brings his passion and leadership expertise to The Hometown Nine, a mentorship program for kids in the Pacific Northwest that focuses on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion for young athletes. He cherished the opportunity to give back to the community and provide a new generation the opportunity to learn about baseball off the diamond, like he did in Pittsburgh. 

"I wished when I was growing up that I had some sort of figure that was available more consistently," said Rodríguez. "Having that sounding board of a neutral third party is something I have always looked for and I still look for that now. Being able to provide that to my mentee, being there for him, being committed to him, it just means so much."

Rodríguez is also a member of the IDEA Alliance, a group of Mariners' employees that activate the Seattle Mariners priority to have a diverse workforce, create a safe and encouraging workplace and use MLB's platform to advance causes of racial and social justice in the community. Initiatives like the IDEA Alliance and the Hometown Nine program have propelled the work Rodríguez does to new heights at the Mariners.

"With the IDEA Alliance, as you grow older your priorities change, your thought process modifies and I kind of looked around and thought there's not a lot of 'me' around," he said. "There are very few Puerto Ricans in roles such as mine. I wanted to be a part of the IDEA Alliance to grow the conversation and increase opportunities."

Giving back to his community is of the utmost importance for Rodríguez and something that has been ingrained in him from a young age. When asked how his culture or heritage has impacted him personally and professionally, Rodríguez credited his relationship-centered mentality.

"It is about building relationships and understanding that people are different and accepting them for those differences," he said. "In terms of the IDEA Alliance, I think that it is the same idea, that is probably the closest group of people I work with here because it consists of essential, unfiltered conversations where you go right to the point. That comes from the family atmosphere that I grew up around."

As Rodríguez reflected on his career path and journey throughout baseball thus far, a quote from Roberto Clemente that the Pittsburgh Pirates had written in their ballpark still stands out in his head.

"'Every time you have the opportunity to help someone, and you don't, you're wasting your time on this earth.' That has always resonated with me. When you walked in the building that is the first quote you saw."

Rodríguez not only embodies that quote through his leadership, but through his commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, not to mention his passion for baseball.

"I might only make it so far in my career, so my goal is that maybe from my example I can clear a path for a fellow Puerto Rican so that their struggles are a little less, the path is a little clearer and the opportunities are present."