PEORIA, Ariz. – As a kid growing up in Loma De Cabrera, a town of just over 25,000 people in the northwest corner of the Dominican Republic, Julio Rodríguez spent hours upon hours on the same dirt baseball field, certain he would be playing Major League Baseball someday.

It wasn’t an outlandish belief, despite the impossible odds for any young player to reach the game’s highest level. His obvious talent, his passion for the game and a tireless work ethic instilled in him by his parents seemed like the right equation to carry him to baseball’s highest level.

And while he always knew he would be a big-league baseball player, achieving that goal following an astonishing spring training in 2022 and becoming the Mariners’ everyday center fielder at age 21, he searched to find his true identity as a player. The separation from good to great and great to elite is often simply understanding what makes you successful, working to do it better and more often.

Even after his success as a rookie, making the American League All-Star team, winning the AL Rookie of the Year and finishing seventh in MVP voting, Rodríguez continued to search for ways to improve, particularly as a hitter. He was still oozing with potential. Each offseason, he tinkered with his stance, his load and swing, experimented with different approaches to hitting, listened to different advice – some good, some bad and some unwanted. It didn’t lead to consistent success, and at times, resulted in early-season struggles.

But not this offseason.

Early Tuesday morning, as the Mariners prepared to hold their first official full-squad workout of spring training, Rodríguez met with the media. Always optimistic and entertaining, he seemed almost sage-like when discussing how he’d grown as a player. The 2025 season offered him a chance to grow as a leader, becoming more vocal in the clubhouse, while also offering insight into his identity as a hitter and a player as the Mariners came just eight outs from making their first World Series.

“I just feel like last year, I learned a lot of things about myself, like the player I am, the things I like to do, the things I’m better at, the things I’m not so good at,” he said. “It came with maturity a little bit, but just kind of understanding more about myself within the game.”

Players can spend their whole career searching for what makes them the best version of themselves.

For Rodríguez, some of the clarity came in his decision to not play in last year’s All-Star Game, instead using the four-day break to rest his body and reset his mind. He had a staycation of sorts, staying at home and doing a little bit of soul searching. His first half wasn’t bad. But it could’ve been so much more.

In 95 games and 431 plate appearances, Rodríguez posted a .252/.313/.417 (average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) slash line with 18 doubles, three triples, 14 homers, 50 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, 28 walks and 93 strikeouts.

He was trying to embrace Edgar Martinez’s simple approach of staying to the middle of the field at the plate while also trying to reduce his strikeouts, particularly with runners in scoring position.

Rodríguez evaluated everything he did in the first half – the good and bad. He had some hard conversations with himself. He was honest and harsh.

“I feel like sometimes you’ve got to be your best own coach,” he said. “Once you step on the field, or you step in that batter’s box, it’s on you. There’s nobody else. If you don’t realize those things for yourself, it doesn’t matter how much people tell you. Everybody has their own things they have to figure out.”

When he returned to the field July 18, he had a refreshed mindset. He was going to embrace the good, discard the bad and accept what couldn’t be controlled.

“As the second half started going on and on, I kept getting more validations on those things,” he said. “I started to feel like, ‘OK, that’s who I am and what I want to bring to the field.’ ”

With a clear mind, the subsequent results were outstanding. Over the final 65 games, he posted a .290/.341/.560 slash line with 14 doubles, a triple, 18 homers, 45 RBI and had 13 stolen bases.

“He’s finished strong in the second half of every one of his major-league seasons,” said Jerry Dipoto, president of baseball operations. “And when I say strong, like one of the best players in baseball, during the second half of any one of those major-league seasons.”

And yet …

“There’s something unique about what he did the second half last year, as opposed to in years past,” Dipoto said. “I don’t know why it feels that way. It just felt like he became a more mature player who was aware of his impact on the game day to day. It’s coming up with big hits in big moments to doing all the little things that sometimes would get away from him earlier in his career.”

That maturity and clarity, along with competing in the World Baseball Classic, is why Dipoto believes Rodríguez might not have one of his traditionally slow starts.

“He has had some difficulties in starting the season, I tend to think that some of that is just experience,” Dipoto said. “It’s trust, it’s trust in himself. It’s feeling trust in our group.”

Manager Dan Wilson, who first saw Rodríguez as a teenager, marveled at his growth.

“We saw a huge step in terms of his maturity,” Wilson said. “And I think he learned a lot about baseball. He learned a lot about himself. … The second half that he had was unreal. He is a guy that is full of joy, and when he plays with that joy, that’s when he’s at his best.”

While his offseason work was dedicated to repeating the things that made him successful to finish the season, he also dedicated some time and money to renovating that dirt field that he grew up on, dreaming big dreams.

With the help of his shoe sponsor Adidas, and developer Brian Mejia of Brison SRL, who helped build the Orioles Dominican Academy, Rodríguez was able to do an extreme field makeover, turning what looked like a sandlot into a full complex with a modern baseball field with turf, lights, batting cages, bullpens, stands and amenities. He also added two tee-ball fields and a soccer field.

“That’s the field for my first baseball experiences, first tournament, first home run, pretty much everything,” he said.

When he signed with the Mariners, he made it a goal to give back to his community in any way.

“Every year I do a little activity for my hometown, we give back toys and baseball equipment, a lot of different things,” he said. “We remodeled the cultural center where I celebrated my 17th birthday. It’s something for community use for all the people. I was looking around thinking, what will be my next project. And it was the field.”

The unveiling drew a massive crowd and a host of Dominican baseball stars, including teammates Victor Robles and Luis Castillo along with Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Oneil Cruz, Christopher Morel, Ronel Blanco and former Mariner Nelson Cruz.

They all came at the request of Rodríguez, who invited them to share in his accomplishment.

“To be honest, I feel like that’s one of the greatest things I’ve done,” he said. “It’s definitely helping out my community, and kind of like opening the door a little bit wider for the kids that are coming behind me from my hometown that had the same difficulties I had. It makes it a little bit easier for them. I feel like that’s something that I’m really here for.”