All-Star Game Julio Rodriguez will try to shine in front of his fans - Sportish
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All-Star Game Julio Rodriguez will try to shine in front of his fans

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All-Star Game Julio Rodriguez will try to shine in front of his fans

(Seattle) One block from T-Mobile Park, a huge mural by Julio Rodriguez occupies the wall of a warehouse. It pays homage to Seattle’s young star, who the Mariners hope to see patrolling their center field for the next decade.

At just 22 years old, he is already the face of the team. His bib number 44 lines the stands night after night, at home and abroad. A lot of expectations are placed on him as the next generation player in the center field of this organization.

Star Week in Seattle would be her party. The “J-Rod Show” at home, so that everyone can enjoy his talent.

It could still be, despite a subpar season so far for both Rodriguez and the team.

Registered in the home run contest, Rodriguez was only added to the all-star roster following the injury layoffs of Yordan Alvarez and Mike Trout. But months after earning Rookie All-American honors and the Mariners ending a 21-season no-playoff streak, the 2023 season is not what it promised to be, both for him and the club.

“The learning curve is very steep,” said Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., the Mariners’ last-generation center fielder. But he will get away with it. »

Rodriguez is stuck on that learning curve this season. This is not the bad luck of the second season. Not a disappointment either. Rodriguez’s season follows the same trajectory as the Mariners’: It’s remarkably average. The Mariners are 45-44 at halftime.

Does he deserve to be in the all-star game? Averages of .249/.310/.411 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs are not immediately obvious. Even Mariners fans agree that his first half isn’t on par with last year’s. He did not make the top 10 outfielders by popular vote.

However, for a sport that lacks engaging personalities, having Rodriguez’s exuberance and beaming smile as one of his landmark events is played in his own stadium is a huge win for the MLB.

“Having the opportunity to participate in this event on this field, in front of the Seattle fans and all of my family who will be there, will be so much fun,” said Rodriguez.

The Mariners’ historic lack of success has created an environment in which the club’s passionate fans become attached to the team’s stars. That’s what happened to Griffey, who had a chocolate bar in his image in his first season and became the best player of his generation in his early twenties. It happened to Felix Hernandez, who entered the rotation at 19 and quickly became “King Felix” as one of baseball’s best right-handers at 21.

Being the face of the organization at such a young age brings a certain weight on your shoulders. In just his second season, Rodriguez has several national sponsors and even his own brand of cereal. It’s always his face that we see first whenever the Mariners are mentioned.

“There will always be expectations. There’s probably one for Julio because he plays every day. I would only find myself in the spotlight every five days, Hernandez mentioned. He does a very good job. He is a good young man full of talent. »

When Rodriguez took off in 2022, so did the Mariners. Their center fielder turned out to be their spark plug. If Seattle knew Rodriguez, the rest of the baseball world really knew him in last year’s home run meet, when he hit 81 home runs in three innings before losing to Juan Soto in the Finals.

In addition to participating in the summer derby, Rodriguez is a Mariners ambassador for all baseball festivities, along with Griffey, Hernandez and Edgar Martinez.

Two are in the Hall of Fame and have their statues near T-Mobile Park. Hernandez will be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame later this summer, highlighting his 10-year dominance on the mound when the team was fairly common.

Will Rodriguez reach that level? Time, your production and your successes will be the final judges. But it’s an extra weight on the shoulders of a 22-year-old baseball player.

“The only piece of advice I would give Julio is, ‘Take time for yourself,’” Griffey said. Enjoy what you do, but make time for yourself. »

Source: lapresse

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New York Yankees Amed Rosario signs 1-year contract worth 2.5 million

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New York Yankees Amed Rosario signs 1-year contract worth 2.5 million

(New York) Utility player Amed Rosario signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

Rosario was acquired by the Yankees from the Washington Nationals on July 26 for right-handed pitcher Clayton Beeter and minor league outfielder Browm Martinez.

Rosario had a .303 batting average with one home run and five RBIs in 16 games with New York. He became a free agent after the most recent World Series.

Rosário played shortstop, second base, third base and right fielder last campaign. Manager Aaron Boone could move him to third base along with Ryan McMahon, acquired from the Colorado Rockies on July 25.

Rosario, which celebrated its 30thand birthday in November, is a nine-year veteran of Major League Baseball. He owns a .273 batting average with 69 home runs and 389 RBIs with the New York Mets (2017-2020), Cleveland Guardians (2021-2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-2024), Tampa Bay Rays (2024), Cincinnati Reds (2024), Nationals (2025) and Yankees.

Yankees starting shortstop Anthony Volpe will begin the season on the injured list as he recovers from arthroscopic left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14. José Caballero, who arrived from the Rays on July 31, is expected to play regularly at shortstop until Volpe returns, probably not before May.

Source: lapresse

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New York Yankees Amed Rosario signs one-year, $2.5 million contract

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New York Yankees Amed Rosario signs 1-year contract worth 2.5 million

(New York) Utility player Amed Rosario signed a one-year contract worth US$2.5 million (C$3.4 million) with the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

Rosario was acquired by the Yankees from the Washington Nationals on July 26 for right-handed pitcher Clayton Beeter and minor league outfielder Browm Martinez.

Rosario had a .303 batting average with one home run and five RBIs in 16 games with New York. He became a free agent after the most recent World Series.

Rosário played shortstop, second base, third base and right fielder last campaign. Manager Aaron Boone could move him to third base along with Ryan McMahon, acquired from the Colorado Rockies on July 25.

Rosario, which celebrated its 30thand birthday in November, is a nine-year veteran of Major League Baseball. He owns a .273 batting average with 69 home runs and 389 RBIs with the New York Mets (2017-2020), Cleveland Guardians (2021-2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-2024), Tampa Bay Rays (2024), Cincinnati Reds (2024), Nationals (2025) and Yankees.

Yankees starting shortstop Anthony Volpe will begin the season on the injured list as he recovers from arthroscopic left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14. José Caballero, who arrived from the Rays on July 31, is expected to play regularly at shortstop until Volpe returns, probably not before May.

Source: lapresse

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2025 Review The Blue Jays Thrilled Canadian Fans

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2025 Review The Blue Jays Thrilled Canadian Fans

(Montreal) After a 32-year drought, the Toronto Blue Jays found themselves in the World Series and it’s safe to say that they thrilled baseball fans across the country, and even more: the Queen City team became, during the two weeks of the Major Baseball final series, a topic of discussion beyond the scope of the sport.

Here’s a look at last season in MLB.

Jays just short

On April 29, the Blue Jays had just suffered a 10-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox, their eighth loss in nine games, falling to 13-16, in fourth place in the American League East. Coach John Schneider’s name was one of the favorites among those who were likely to lose their jobs at the various sports betting sites. The same Schneider, with practically the same cast, changed the game.

The Jays won 81 of their next 133 games to finish the season at an American-best 94-68, atop the East, defeating the New York Yankees in a tiebreaker.

Led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – imperial in the playoffs, with offensive averages of .397/.494/.795, five doubles, eight home runs, 15 RBIs and 20 walks, including six intentional ones, after signing a 14-season contract worth US$500 million – the Jays eliminated the Yankees in the division series and the Seattle Mariners in the championship series, where Vlad was also named the player par excellence.

PHOTO JON BLACKER, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

But in the World Series, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team fell short. Up 3-2 in the series and with the final two games played in Toronto, the Jays were unable to take the Commissioner’s Trophy north of the border.

It remains to be seen whether the team can have the same success in 2026, especially since, at the time of this writing, Bo Bichette and veteran Max Scherzer are free agents. The team, however, secured the services of starter Dylan Cease for the next seven years for 210 million and right-hander Cody Ponce, MVP of the Korean Baseball Organization, South Korea’s top league, for three years.

Title defense

The Dodgers successfully defended their title as World Series champions, becoming the first team since the Yankees dynasty at the end of the last century to achieve the feat.

If we expected Shohei Ohtani – far from disappointing with three home runs and five RBIs – it was another Japanese who stole the show, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.


PHOTO FRANK GUNN, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES

The Los Angeles Dodgers were crowned World Series champions for the second consecutive season.

The right-hander mystified the Jays’ attack by recording three wins in two games in this World Series. He first pitched his second consecutive complete game in the playoffs before pitching six innings in Game No.the 6 and two and two thirds innings in relief in game nthe 7 to get victory.

Yamamoto was deservedly named World Series MVP, becoming only the second Japanese man to win the title, after Hideki Matsui of the Yankees in 2009.

However, the Jays led 4-2 with five outs left in this final meeting. Solo homers by Max Muncy, in the eighth, against young sensation Trey Yesavage, and by Miguel Rojas, after a strikeout in the ninth, against Jeff Hoffman, however, forced overtime.

At 11andWill Smith even gave the Rogers Center a cold shower, pushing the offer of Shane Bieber, a beautiful acquisition at the trade deadline, just to the left of the field to give the Californians the victory.

Ohtani and Judge

For the second year in a row, Ohtani and Aaron Judge were named the National and All-American MVPs – a third consecutive title for Ohtani and a third in four seasons for Judge.


PHOTO BRYNN ANDERSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES

Shohei Ohtani

Both players put up statistics that left no doubt about their selection, although the race in the American was tighter with the 60 home runs of Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.

Ohtani maintained .282/.392/.622 averages with 55 home runs (second-highest total in the Nationals) and 102 RBIs. Judge, in turn, had the best slashline in the Majors at .331/.457/.688. His adjusted attendance/power average (OPS+) of 215 was the fourth-best in major league history for a right-handed hitter, after hitting his best (225) last season.

In Ohtani’s case, it’s his fourth MVP award: two with the Dodgers, two with the Los Angeles Angels. All four were obtained unanimously.

Mixed season for Quebecers

The last campaign was not easy for the Quebecers in Major Baseball, where only Otto Lopez, from the Miami Marlins, still holds a regular position.

And Lopez doesn’t appear to be about to lose his job after a breakout sophomore campaign with the Marlins. Used mainly as a shortstop in the 143 games he played, he maintained averages of .246/.305/.368. He also set personal bests in hits (134), home runs (15), RBIs (77) and runs scored (66) while maintaining a .977 save percentage.

On the other hand, both Édouard Julien, from Minnesota, and Abraham Toro, from Boston, failed to establish themselves definitively in the big leagues this season.

Julien was used in just 64 games for the Twins, and even though he has increased his averages (.220/.309/.324) from last year, it is questionable whether that will be enough for him to maintain his place on the 40-man Massachusetts team at the start of training camp.

Toro had a great training camp and when the Red Sox struggled with injuries, he was one of the first called up in early May. After a promising start, his production dropped and he ended his MLB stint in August with .239/.289/.371 averages in 77 games.

Women’s time!

Baseball followed in the footsteps of other major sports with the creation of the first professional women’s league, the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL), where Quebecers are already in the spotlight.

The first four teams on the new circuit – Boston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco – recently held their first draft session, consisting of six rounds, during which each club drafted five players, totaling 20 per round and 120 overall.

Of that number, five are from Quebec, including the first Quebecer called up, first baseman Andréanne Leblanc, from Mont-Saint-Hilaire, 32 in total, for the San Francisco club. The others are Maïka Dumais (Boston), Ela Day-Bédard (San Francisco), Élodie Ciamarro (New York) and Sarah Beaulieu (New York).

Of the 30 players called up by the four clubs, 15 will get a contract to play in the inaugural season, which will be held over seven weeks, including playoffs, on a neutral field, at Robin-Roberts Stadium, in Springfield, Illinois. The season will begin in August 2026.

Source: lapresse

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