Julio Rodríguez won the Home Run Derby on Monday evening before the first round of the tournament was complete at T-Mobile Park. Actually, he won it before his own first round was complete. Even if he didn’t technically win anything.
As the Mariner’s center fielder stepped to the plate, the crowd eyeballed him pleadingly. They shouted his name expectantly. And when the first pitch he saw exploded high over the left field fence, it was not just a home run, but the fulfillment of some unspoken promise. After a mediocre few months of Mariners baseball to start this season, it was also cathartic.
The people needed Julio—and
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