{"id":507941,"date":"2026-03-06T21:03:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T21:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/507941\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T21:03:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T21:03:16","slug":"like-a-big-family-julio-rodriguez-dominican-republic-enter-wbc-with-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/507941\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Like A Big Family:’ Julio Rodr\u00edguez, Dominican Republic Enter WBC With Confidence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before Julio Rodriguez<\/a> joined his Dominican Republic<\/a> teammates in Miami ahead of the World Baseball Classic, he had already noticed something different about his star-studded team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, everyone seemed to be talking more. This year, everyone seemed more connected. And this year, after stunningly failing to make it out of pool play in the 2023 tournament, there was added motivation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s why I feel even more excited to play,” Rodr\u00edguez told me in February during Mariners<\/a> spring training in Arizona. “We all know we\u2019re talented, and we all know we\u2019re really good at this game, but I feel like there\u2019s a little something going on in the air.”<\/p>\n

The bond among the Dominican players was already obvious months ago, when some of the compatriots he\u2019ll be playing alongside in the WBC<\/a> demonstrated the brotherhood they share off the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In early January, Rodr\u00edguez made a personal investment of $1.3 million to overhaul his childhood baseball field in the Dominican Republic and turn it into a state-of-the-art complex that now includes the country\u2019s first-ever public AstroTurf baseball field. Rodr\u00edguez and his No Limits Foundation completely remodeled the infrastructure of the complex, adding professional drainage, lights, batting cages, bullpens and bathrooms to give the kids in his neighborhood the modern facilities he never had when he was hitting his first home runs and taking the first steps toward his baseball dream.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We basically cleaned up the whole area,” Rodr\u00edguez explained, “and turned it into a little stadium in my hometown.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rodr\u00edguez, who returns home every year to give back to his hometown \u2014\u00a0usually toys and baseball equipment, but this year on a much grander scale \u2014 called it one of the greatest things he has done in his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And he wasn\u2019t alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He describes his community of Loma de Cabrera, an area tucked in the northwest corner of the country not far from the border with Haiti, as a place where “there\u2019s not really a whole lot going on.” That changed with the unveiling of the new complex, which turned into a reunion of Dominican baseball luminaries. Fellow Team Dominican Republic standouts Juan Soto<\/a>, Vladimir Guerrero<\/a> Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr.<\/a> and Oneil Cruz<\/a>, as well as their WBC general manager, Nelson Cruz \u2014 the man who called Rodr\u00edguez in Spain earlier this year to officially welcome him back to the national squad \u2014 were among the many in attendance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rodr\u00edguez dreamed of meeting MLB<\/a> superstars like that when he was a kid, so he knows the impact that gesture from his teammates made on the youth of his community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Definitely really grateful for them for showing support and love,” Rodr\u00edguez said. “I feel like we\u2019re all like a big family. Once we go on the field against each other, it\u2019s like playing your best friends. You want to go all out, compete, beat them so you have that on them. But once we\u2019re off the field hanging out, we\u2019re like a family.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The mood is jovial with the Dominican Republic at the WBC. (Photo by Kelly Gavin\/WBCI\/MLB Photos via Getty Images) <\/p>\n

For the next few weeks, that family will be together again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And this time, a more confident, self-actualized version of Rodr\u00edguez will be taking the field for the Dominican Republic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the last WBC, Rodr\u00edguez was coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign. But he was just 22 years old, still getting his feet wet in the big leagues. And while his offensive success has fluctuated in the years since, he believes last year he gained a better understanding of the player he is and the leader he can be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“After I took a little bit of a break at All-Star [week] and kind of had some time to kind of think things through a little bit differently, I feel like from that point on, that\u2019s when I started kind of stepping into that more,” Rodr\u00edguez said. “As the second half kept going on and on, I kept getting more validation on those things. That\u2019s when it was like, \u2018That\u2019s who I am, and that\u2019s what I want to bring to the field.\u2019”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Put succinctly: “I learned a lot of things about myself and what makes me, me.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Julio Rodriguez has established himself as a clubhouse leader. (Getty Images) <\/p>\n

Over the last four MLB seasons, those around him in Seattle have noted his growth. Rodr\u00edguez still believes the best way he can lead is through his play and accountability, but last season was the first time he said he felt truly comfortable speaking up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mariners manager Dan Wilson noticed it, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I think we saw a huge step in terms of his maturity,” Wilson said. “I think he learned a lot about baseball, he learned a lot about himself, and credit to him, he was able to put that to use. The second half that he had was unreal, and I just am excited for him with the [World] Baseball Classic to be ready to go and to take that right into the first half of this year. He\u2019s a guy that\u2019s full of joy, and when he plays with that joy, that\u2019s when he\u2019s at his best.”<\/p>\n

Continuing a trend throughout his career, Rodr\u00edguez looked like a completely different player after the break last season. He had a .900 OPS in the second half and by year\u2019s end had the lowest strikeout rate of his career, his second 30-30 season and the most valuable season of his career by wins above replacement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Entering 2026, there\u2019s nothing he wants to change.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a better knowledge of who he is as a hitter, Rodr\u00edguez is entering the year from a more self-assured place. Seattle\u2019s playoff run helped him build that belief.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Once you actually make a run in the playoffs, there\u2019s a lot of things you can\u2019t explain, but the confidence definitely grows in you,” he told me. “That experience, that\u2019s something you can\u2019t replicate unless you\u2019re actually in it.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Julio Rodriguez and the Mariners are among the teams to beat in the AL. (Photo by Michael Chisholm\/MLB Photos via Getty Images) <\/p>\n

The Mariners got closer to the World Series<\/a> than they ever had before, coming one game short of advancing past the Blue Jays<\/a> in the American League Championship Series before dropping Games 6 and 7 in Toronto in heartbreaking fashion. In the deciding Game 7, a home run from Rodr\u00edguez put the Mariners ahead in the third inning. Another homer from Cal Raleigh<\/a> added to the lead in the fifth. But in the seventh, Toronto\u2019s George Springer delivered the dagger with a decisive three-run home run.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the moment, the pain was crushing. But, at least for Rodr\u00edguez, it was also fleeting. After letting his emotions out in the clubhouse, he quickly averted his attention forward in the days to follow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“There was not, like, \u2018Oh, I need to take time away and think about it,\u2019” Rodr\u00edguez said. “No, take what you can from it and move on. There\u2019s nothing you can really change after everything\u2019s over. It\u2019s just, take the lesson and keep moving forward. Get better and go back at it.”<\/p>\n

Afterward, Rodr\u00edguez returned to the Dominican Republic to see family and friends, as he does every offseason. He saw some of the World Series games when the television was on at his house, but he didn\u2019t ruminate on the loss or watch every pitch with disdain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m a big competitor, and even though I allow myself to feel things, at the same time, I try to get the best out of the situation,” Rodr\u00edguez said. “Definitely turned my eyes to this season because it\u2019s something that, as a team, we should be looking forward to. I actually experienced playoff baseball, and getting that rush of it, it\u2019s addicting, to be honest. It\u2019s addicting.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Dominican Republic is loaded with MLB talent (Getty). <\/p>\n

In January, Rodr\u00edguez renovated his hometown baseball field. In February, he attended the Super Bowl<\/a> and watched the Seahawks dismantle the Patriots in a win that added even more motivation as the Mariners try to keep Seattle\u2019s party going in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before embarking on that journey, though, he\u2019ll be playing in the closest thing to playoff baseball in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like the Mariners, Team Dominican Republic enters the year with unfinished business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The All-Star-laden Dominican team, which features Rodr\u00edguez, Soto, Guerrero, Tatis, Ketel Marte<\/a>, Manny Machado<\/a> and Junior Caminero<\/a> in arguably the most talented lineup in the entire tournament, is looking to win the WBC for the first time since 2013. That was the last time it advanced beyond the second round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The revenge tour for Rodr\u00edguez and the Dominican Republic begins Wednesday night against Nicaragua.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I feel like the way the guys have come together, and the excitement we all have to come out and play this time,” Rodr\u00edguez said, “I feel like it\u2019s a little bit different.”\u00a0
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