A Grip on Sports: The Mariners, in their quest to end two decades of futility, decide the time is right for Rodriguez

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It could be. Might be. Maybe even should be. But there is no guarantee.

•••••••

• Julio Rodriguez could be the next Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro rolled into one. Or he could be just another player.

Baseball is fickle that way. Even can’t miss prospects miss. Sometimes unicorns are just horses with a large pimple.

But we don’t believe that’s the case with Rodriguez, whose inevitable ascension to the big leagues was not just announced by the Mariners on Monday, it was announced with fanfare. Trumpets even, in the social media sense.

Rodriguez is 21-year-old outfield prodigy from the Dominican Republic. He’s been winding his way through the Mariner system since 2018. He had been stamped for success even before that.

This spring training he’s showed he belongs. Even Seattle, which is adept as anyone in service-time manipulation, decided to pull the trigger now and not wait. That’s unprecedented. Ask Jarred Kelenic, last year’s rookie phenom.

So Rodriguez will be in centerfield when the Mariners begin the season in Minnesota on Thursday (or Friday, if the weatherman doesn’t cooperate). And he will carry a heavy load with him.

The M’s haven’t made the postseason in two decades, the longest such streak in the four major North American sports. They haven’t exceeded 90 wins since 2003. They have never been to the World Series. And Rodriguez is supposed to help them, over the course of his career, with all that.

Is he up to it? No one individual is and, let’s face it, the Mariners, despite winning 90 games last season, still have holes. Their catching isn’t yet at a championship level (a more mature Cal Raleigh may help there) and the starting pitching is relying on some younger arms. But Rodriguez’s presence in the lineup, if he does what talent evaluators believe he is capable of, will help.

He can hit. Hit with power. Run. Throw. All at an all-star level. And he plays the game with an exuberance last seen in these parts with a young Griffey. Except, he adds a bit of an edge. A competitive streak that reeks of “I’m going to kick your butt.” (See his rise from the dust at home plate following a recent inside-the-park home run for visual confirmation.)

The Mariners need that. Too often in the past couple decades they’ve seemed resigned to their fate. Too professional at times to believe their own success. Oh, there have been years in which two outs didn’t matter or the playoffs seemed close enough to touch. But they would fall short, shrug and move on.

The young guns, from Rodriguez to Kelenic to J.P. Crawford to Logan Gilbert to Matt Brash and beyond, have a bit of a chip – OK, a redwood-sized chip – on their collective shoulders.

There seems to be a will here. A will to excel. A will to battle. A will to, dare we say it, succeed. The analytic folks can’t quantify it, so they may poo-poo its existence, but we’ve felt it before with teams. It’s like the Force, with a Star Wars capital F, lifting the collective beyond the sum of the individuals.

Now, to be sure, having a dozen 100-miles-per-hour arms in the bullpen and a lineup filled with 30-home-run guys is better than relying on Luke and his mystical power. But it doesn’t hurt to believe. To dream. And have the over-the-top desire to reach those dreams.

Rodriguez has that. He wants to be remembered. To be considered among the best.

Help lead the M’s to glory and he will be.

•••

Gonzaga: Want to spend Thanksgiving in Hawaii in 2023? Start planning now. As Theo Lawson passes along, the Zags are reportedly headed to the Maui Invitational that year. … The Bulldogs’ baseball team will host Washington State this afternoon (the game-time temp will be in the 40s). Colton Clark uses the game between the ranked Zags and WSU to summarize their seasons thus far and preview what might be ahead. … Back to hoops, Jon Wilner (and others) have already put together a possible top 25 for next season. Gonzaga is listed in every one, as one would expect. … The Zag women don’t make ESPN’s list but they are close.

WSU: Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, of course we watched the NCAA championship game last night. For a while there we were pretty sure put our money – figuratively; we don’t gamble – on the wrong horse. But Kansas raced back into the game early in the second half and held off North Carolina. By overcoming a 15-point halftime deficit, the Jayhawks not only won their fourth title but set a record en route. And, yes, NCAA president Mark Emmert handed the trophy to Bill Self. … Wilner has another financial outlook column in the Mercury News this morning. Once again, the tea leaves don’t look good for the Pac-12. … In football news, Washington has picked up a running back transfer from Virginia. … Oregon is still trying to figure out the roster and positions. … So is Colorado. … USC is focusing on accountability. … UCLA is focusing on stability. … Arizona State has attracted a good number of transfers.

EWU: When we arrived in the Inland Northwest, Jim Wasem Sr. was already the baseball coach at Eastern Washington University. A few years later, the school disbanded the program despite more success than the budget would have indicated. Wasem died Saturday in Missouri. Dave Cook has this obituary. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, a Montana football player has shifted positions.

Preps: Four years after leading Central Valley High to state and national invitational tournament titles, Lexie Hull announced yesterday she will forgo her extra COVID-19 season and enter the WNBA draft. That news leads off our local briefs column. … According to the Mercury News, sister Lacie will also leave Stanford after this season.

Indians: Spokane begins play Friday at Avista. Dave Nichols has a preview, based on the roster Colorado announced Monday.

Golf: The Masters is this weekend. Yes, we know we overhype the event. We’ve always been a fan, even when we couldn’t really watch it on TV and had to read about what happened in Sports Illustrated. But this year could be special. Maybe. Tiger Woods still hasn’t decided whether he’s playing or not.

Mariners: We mentioned Rodriguez above (and linked a few stories and columns). But there is a lot more to read. The Times has many stories on the upcoming season, all of which we try to pass along here. Have fun. … The M’s won Monday.

Seahawks: Bobby Wagner will be on a mission when the Rams face the Hawks this fall. Not sure we would want to be on the offensive line that day.

•••       

• Tommy Davis was one of our favorite Dodger outfielders when we were in elementary school. His quiet excellence appealed to an introverted boy. Davis, who led the National League in hitting twice – and still holds the Dodgers’ single-season record for RBI – before a gruesome leg injury derailed his career, died Sunday. He was 83. Until later …