SEATTLE -- Cal Raleigh says he’s trying not to think much about the increased likelihood of him becoming a first-time All-Star this season, in light of Phase 1 of the 2025 PRO SPIRIT MLB All-Star Ballot for the fan vote launching on Wednesday. Pressed about competing in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, the Mariners catcher was far more blunt. “Yeah, I would do that in a heartbeat,” Raleigh said this week. There are just under six weeks to go before baseball’s premier power-hitting event, but barring an injury or massive drop-off in production, Raleigh is putting together arguably the strongest candidacy in the sport to be among the eight-man field for the Derby, which will take place at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14. “Who wouldn’t want to do that, right?” Raleigh said. Raleigh leads the Majors with 24 homers. The catcher would be a first-time Derby participant. He plays an unusual position for a Derby contestant and would be taking part in a homecoming of sorts, having grown up 150 miles away in North Carolina. The potentially best part, though, would be the chance that the switch-hitting Raleigh could bat from both sides. “We’ve got to get there first, and from there, we’d decide,” Raleigh said with a wry grin. Since the Derby’s inception in 1985, only Adley Rutschman in 2023 has hit both righty and lefty in the event, according to Baseball-Reference. Baltimore’s backstop did so on Raleigh’s home turf at T-Mobile Park, when he crushed 20 homers from the left side in the three-minute first round before switching to hit from the right side during a 30-second bonus round after a break. Though Rutschman didn’t advance out of that round, losing to White Sox slugger Luis Robert Jr., it was arguably the highlight of the entire event. Only 10 switch-hitters have taken part in the Derby -- José Ramírez (2022, ’24), Rutschman (2023), Josh Bell (2019), Carlos Santana (2019), Nick Swisher (2010), Mark Teixeira (2005), Lance Berkman (2002, ’04, ’06, ’08), Chipper Jones (1997, 2000), Ruben Sierra (1989) and Eddie Murray (1985). None have won; no catcher has, either. |
All of these factors certainly will be on Raleigh’s mind if and when an invitation comes from MLB, which probably won’t be for at least a few weeks. The first participant announced last year was Gunnar Henderson on June 30, who revealed his commitment during a midgame interview on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The year prior, it was Julio Rodríguez on June 23, as part of a home-field reveal, given that year’s All-Star Week was in Seattle. “That's out of my control,” Raleigh said. “I'm not worrying about that -- just worrying about the team. And any of that stuff that comes along -- if it comes, it comes; if it doesn't, it doesn't. I still have a job to do.” As for the All-Star Game, Raleigh -- who is pushing into the AL MVP conversation -- is the runaway favorite to not only make the team but start for the American League at catcher, which would come via the fan vote. “That's kind of like the peak of individual, what you want to accomplish,” Raleigh said, “something that you look back one day, that'd be a pretty cool thing and to be honored with. And it being in Georgia, very close to home and somewhere I've been a lot, spent a lot of time there, that’d be kind of neat.” If he wins the fan vote, Raleigh would also end a franchise-long drought, becoming Seattle’s first catcher to start the All-Star Game. To date, Dan Wilson -- his manager and longtime mentor -- is the only Mariners backstop to be an All-Star, in 1996. The Mariners haven’t had an All-Star in the starting lineup of the Midsummer Classic since Nelson Cruz at designated hitter in 2015. And they haven’t had a non-DH in the starting lineup since Robinson Canó in 2014. Raleigh has become one of the faces of sports in the Pacific Northwest, but the stars are aligning for those outside this region to get to know him much more. |
|
|
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
|
|
ALL-STAR BALLOTING UNDERWAY |
|
|
GILBERT EYES RETURN FROM IL |
Logan Gilbert explained what might've caused his slightly diminished velocity in his second rehab start for Triple-A Tacoma, as he eyes a return to the Mariners' rotation. If that comes next Tuesday in Arizona, which would align with the six-day routine that the Mariners are forecasting for the ace, so too would a decision on which starter to subtract. Emerson Hancock has long seemed like the clear option to be optioned, but his strong track record of late has made things more interesting. "I think that's separate from how we're approaching Logan,” Wilson said. More » |
Raleigh has been on a heater, but he also has been the lone hitter in the Mariners’ lineup consistently producing during their 5-10 stretch dating back to May 20: Raleigh: .345/.424/.862 (1.286 OPS), 9 HR
Everyone else: .214/.277/.304 (.581 OPS), 9 HR “We’ve got to create our own luck and can't wait around,” Raleigh said after a 4-3 loss to the Orioles on Thursday, when he homered again to take sole possession of the MLB lead, with 24. “I think that's the big thing I want to see in the next couple games.” More » |
|
|
Mariners special events Check out everything on deck at T-Mobile Park. Buy tickets » • Sing-Along Fireworks Night presented by T-Mobile -- June 13 vs. Guardians • African American Heritage Night: Steelheads Cap Giveaway -- June 14 vs. Guardians • Father’s Day socks giveaway presented by Muckleshoot Casino Resort -- June 15 vs. Guardians Mariners Flex Memberships Summer is in the air, and it’s not too late to come on board as a Season Ticket Member. With a Flex Plan, you can choose your games and seats as you go while still enjoying perks like exclusive presales, year-round discounts, no ticket fees and more. Learn more » |
|
|
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
|
|
To subscribe to Mariners Beat, visit this page and mark "Mariners Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Mariners or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
© 2025 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
Please review our Privacy Policy.
You (mlb-newsletters@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB.
Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.
Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
|
|
|
|
