Former Seattle Mariners Star Weighs in on Julio Rodriguez Pressure, Ken Griffey Comparisons
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The Seattle Mariners suffered a tough loss on Friday afternoon, dropping a back-and-forth 10-9 affair with the San Francisco Giants in extra-innings.
Though the M's lost, there were some positive signs, mainly that Julio Rodriguez went 3-for-6 with an opposite-field home run, three runs scored and a stolen base.
Rodriguez, 24, is a two-time All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger. He's one of the more talented young players in the game, but he still faces regular criticism for not having played up to his lofty prospect status or his big contract. For instance, an Athletics' postgame show host took him to task last weekend, which you can see here.
We caught up with former M's All-Star, Gold Glover and MLB Network host Harold Reynolds on the most recent "Refuse to Lose" podcast to talk about Rodriguez, the pressure on him, and some comparisons to Ken Griffey Jr., who Reynolds played with at the beginning of his career.
"Well, the pressure's enormous, because Ken's one of the greatest players who ever played....He changed the sport...He was a global icon, so I don't think you can ever really live up to that...I think you've got to take Julio for what he is, which is a great young player and a great young talent but Griffey was out of this world, I don't think we'll ever see another Jr."
Rodriguez hit .273 last season with 20 homers and 24 stolen bases.
Reynolds was a two-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glover who played with the M's from 1983-1992. You can hear his full interview below:
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HOW IS JULIO PERCEIVED?: After an A's post-game show host took a shot at Julio Rodriguez over the weekend, we asked Buster Olney of ESPN how J-Rod is perceived around the sport. CLICK HERE:
HAROLD REYNOLDS JOINS US: Reynolds, the former M's All-Star and Gold Glover, stopped by the "Refuse to Lose" podcast for a conversation on his career and much more. CLICK HERE:
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