Julio Rodriguez Gives Praise to Seattle Mariners Legend Edgar Martinez For Hitting Advice
Speaking this week on a podcast in the Dominican Republic, Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez gave big praise to team legend Edgar Martinez.
Martinez took over as the team’s hitting coach last August after manager Scott Servais and hitting coach Jarett Dehart were fired. He clearly left an impression on Rodriguez, who finished the season with a torrid September. He hit .328 in the year’s final month.
Credit goes to @The_Couch_GM for translating the original audio from Spanish. Rodriguez credited Martinez for helping him recognize a “simpler” approach at the plate. Rodriguez struggled through the first half of the 2024 season and then dealt with a serious ankle injury in July and August, which also caused his production to suffer.
The 24-year-old hit .273 for the season with 20 homers, which was a downturn from his previous two All-Star campaigns. The M’s will hope he can build on that September moving forward and carry more consistency into the 2025 season.
As for Martinez, he’s no longer the full-time hitting coach. Rather, he will oversee the team’s entire hitting philosophy and new hitting coach Kevin Seitzer.
Martinez is one of the most beloved figures in Mariners history, having spent 18 years in Seattle as a player. He played on four different playoff teams and made seven All-Star teams. Martinez was a five-time Silver Slugger and a two-time batting champion. He’s a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Mariners are coming off a season in which they went 85-77 and missed the postseason by one game. They last made the playoffs in 2022.
