Julio gives back to his hometown

Wherever he goes, Julio Rodríguez keeps home close, telling those who ask about him or his accomplishments that he’s just “a kid from Loma de Cabrera.”

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This week, Julio put his Dominican hometown of just over 20,000 close to the Haitian border on the receiving end of attention, unveiling a renovated baseball complex he himself invested more than $1.3 million in the town that, in his words, gave him so much.

It was a joyous occasion, with the event bringing together the people of Loma de Cabrera and a group of fellow MLB stars to celebrate with Julio including Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Oneil Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Nelson Cruz, Christopher Morel, Ronel Blanco, and Mariners teammates Luis Castillo and Victor Robles.

“This field is where everything started for me,” Rodríguez said in a press release. “Being able to give back to Loma de Cabrera and create a place where kids can feel proud, feel safe, and believe in themselves means everything. I want them to know there are no limits to what they can achieve.”

Paying it forward for the next generation.@JRODshow44 and his No Limits Foundation opened the first-ever public astroturf baseball field in the Dominican Republic, transforming a historic community space into a state-of-the-art, multi-sport complex in his hometown of Loma de… pic.twitter.com/vPecsVXZot

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) January 6, 2026

The project was completed through Rodríguez’s No Limits Foundation and Green Hope, and supported by partners including adidas, Gatorade, T-Mobile, Nintendo, Victus, the Washington Apple Commission, Seattle Mariners, MLBPA, Play Ball, Dynasty Financial and Rairdon Automotive Group. It gives the community a renovated complex of three baseball fields and a soccer field with turf playing surfaces, professional drainage, stadium lighting, batting cages, bullpens and more.

The ceremony was just one part of the two-day community initiative led by Rodríguez focused on health, wellness, and celebration. In partnership with Oakley and OneSight, free vision screenings were provided to youth and elderly residents.

Rodríguez also brought in celebrity barber Vic Blends to offer free haircuts to community members, and hosted a basketball clinic with former NBA All-Star and UW Huskies standout Isaiah Thomas and Dominican Republic national team star Victor Liz. Rodríguez and his foundations also donated more than 7,500 toys and baseball equipment items to children throughout the community in celebration of Three Kings Day.

Get your tickets…

A celebration of another kind will take place on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at T-Mobile Park as Mariners FanFest returns after a long absence.

Players scheduled to appear include Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh, George Kirby, Josh Naylor and others. Future stars, coaches, broadcasters, and M’s legends will also be in attendance signing autographs, taking photos and interacting with fans during the event.

Tickets for Day 1 of the two-day event have sold out, with the Mariners capping the number of tickets sold at 10,000. Tickets for Day 2 remain, costing under $23 for adults and $12 for kids 14 and under. For more, visit Mariners.com/FanFest.

HOF watch

Félix Hernández is primed for a big jump in his second year on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The former Mariners ace has the fourth-highest vote percentage among public ballots for the class of 2026, as tracked by the Baseball Hall of Fame vote-tracking website BBHOFTracker.com. Hernández has 58.6% of the vote from the 140 known ballots, which represents 33% of the overall Hall of Fame voters.

Only Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Chase Utley have received more votes than Hernández, though just Beltrán and Jones are pacing for the 75% required for induction in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Hernández, who received 20.6% of the vote last year, has gained 28 votes from voters who did not have him on their ballots last year. That’s the highest increase of any returning candidate.

The class of 2026 will be revealed on Tuesday, Jan. 20 on a live broadcast from the Hall of Fame Plaque Gallery in Cooperstown on MLB Network.

Seattle Sports’ Brent Stecker contributed to this post.

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