Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez is the quintessential five-tool player: he hits for average and power, he has a great arm, he runs well and he’s a strong fielder. After Tuesday’s performance against the Padres, though, we might need to award him a sixth tool for acting.
During the fourth inning of a scoreless tie, San Diego right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. launched a ball to deep center field. Rodríguez tracked it to the wall and timed his jump to rob it, but appeared dismayed upon returning to the ground and slowly walked back toward the field in apparent disappointment. It ended up being all a facade, as Rodríguez waited a few dramatic moments before holding up his glove with a mischievous grin to reveal that he had, in fact, made the catch.
Julio Rodriguez had EVERYONE FOOLED with the robbery 🤣
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 9, 2023
(via @Mariners)pic.twitter.com/5rPlpUUYv9
Such a display is anything but a surprise for the 22-year-old superstar, who’s already proven to be one of the game’s most exciting and likable players while also quickly becoming one of the best. His gaudy stat lines receive most of the attention, but his fielding prowess is among the league’s elite as well: he leads all outfielders in outs above average on the season, according to Statcast.
The best part of that sequence, though? The entertainment value. Tatis was the inning’s leadoff hitter, meaning that there was nothing to be gained in the way of an extra out on an unaware base runner by Rodríguez pretending not to have caught the ball. So why do it? The easiest answer is because it was fun—at least, to everybody except for Tatis.
