I read a post a few days ago. The post is about top center fielders in the majors. Julio Rodriguez, without a doubt, is on the list. While seeing Julio Rodriguez’s name, I began to think about one thing.
He made his MLB debut in 2022. So far, he has played 4 seasons in the majors, hitting .274/.331/.469 with 112 home runs and 341 RBI in 590 games. Looking at his stats, I’m just wondering if his performance has satisfied the Mariners fans. Perhaps, we can also take a look at another center fielder that played a key role in the Mariners franchise history.
Well, that center fielder is Ken Griffey Jr., who was elected to the baseball hall of fame in 2016. Ken Griffey Jr. made his MLB debut in 1989. In his career, he spent 22 seasons in the majors, hitting .284/.370/.538 with 630 home runs and 1836 RBI over 2671 games. Ken Griffey Jr. played for the Mariners from 1989 to 1999. He returned to Seattle in 2009 and he played his last season with the Mariners in 2010.
Looking at Jr.’s stats in his first four seasons with the Mariners, he owned a batting average over .300 and an OPS of .860. Moreover, his OBP was over .360. Looking at these stats, it seems that he did hit much better in his first four seasons in the majors than Julio Rodriguez did. Nonetheless, Julio Rodriguez played 590 games for the Mariners. He collected 654 hits, which were more than Ken Griffey Jr. did. Furthermore, Julio Rodriguez blasted 112 home runs and Ken Griffey Jr. didn’t reach 100 career home runs in the first 4 seasons in the majors. Moreover, Julio Rodriguez ran much more than Ken Griffey Jr. did.
In addition, let’s look at the awards they won in the first 4 seasons. Julio Rodriguez won the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year award. However, Ken Griffey Jr. didn’t win the 1989 AL Rookie of the Year award. He finished 3rd in the voting. Nonetheless, Ken Griffey Jr. won 3 Gold Glove awards in his first 4 seasons in the majors. But Julio Rodriguez hasn’t won any Gold Glove award yet. Nevertheless, over the last 4 seasons, Julio Rodriguez has been selected to the All-Star game for 3 times, which is the same as Ken Griffey Jr. in his first 4 seasons in the majors. Additionally, they each received silver slugger awards in the first 4 seasons in their careers.
Looking at the stats between Julio Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr., they both played well for the Mariners and won some awards. Ken Griffey Jr. didn’t crush many home runs as Julio Rodriguez did in the first 4 seasons with the Mariners. But looking at batting average and on-base percentage, his performance was more impressive than Julio’s performance. However, Julio’s speed is a good weapon and he stole more bases than Jr. did in the first 4 seasons with the Mariners. Very soon, Julio Rodriguez will play his 5th season for the Mariners. It will certainly be worthwhile to see if his performance will reach another level. Meanwhile, we can take a look at Ken Griffey Jr.’s stats in 1993, which was his 5th season in the majors. In that season, Ken Griffey Jr. played 156 games for the Mariners, hitting .309/.408/.617 with 45 home runs and 109 RBI.
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