Raleigh adds another signature HR to his reel

TORONTO -- As Scott Servais strolled out of the postgame interview room at Rogers Centre on Friday, his burly backstop strolled in.

“Cal Raleigh! Big Dumper in the house!” the Mariners’ manager shouted, slapping hands and congratulating the switch-hitting catcher after Raleigh contributed more heroics that continue to push him into the spotlight.

Raleigh crushed a two-run homer in the first inning of Seattle’s dominant, 4-0 win over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, one week after he demolished a walk-off, tiebreaking homer that clinched the Mariners’ first postseason berth since 2001.

At this rate, Raleigh is on a fast track to being at the center of some of the franchise’s most iconic moments. Given the hundreds of text messages he’s received, the Mariners’ batting practice T-shirts now adorning his nickname and how he continues to seize these epic moments, how has Raleigh handled the past week?

“It's been a little crazy,” Raleigh said. “I think the biggest thing, though, is just ending the drought was amazing, and getting to do that with my teammates. Obviously, coming here and getting this win was huge. It's awesome. We're not done yet. We're going to focus on tomorrow and try to get one more.”

Mariners fans and prospect circles have known about Raleigh for years as a former MLB Pipeline Top 100 player. The nickname also isn’t new, but it’s taken on another life over the past week.

The origin roots back to Raleigh’s Minor League days, when he was coming up as one of the key foundational pieces to the rebuild. “Big Dumper” first went public ahead of Raleigh’s MLB debut on July 11, 2021, when Jarred Kelenic shared a congratulatory tweet for his longtime teammate.

Kelenic didn’t have much more detail on where or when he coined it, perhaps because it’s that simplistic.

“Right there,” Kelenic said while slapping Raleigh’s rear in the visiting locker room at Rogers Centre. “That’s where it started.”

Kelenic is, however, surprised that his original content has taken off so rapidly, saying: “Oh yeah, I've just recently heard about how it's kind of blown up.”

Humor aside, Raleigh’s impact on the 2022 Mariners has been huge, and he’s quietly been among the most productive catchers in baseball. Raleigh ranked fourth with 4.2 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, and he led them all with 27 homers, none bigger than his last -- until Friday.

Given the context and road environment, Luis Castillo looked as dominant as any point in his career. But the early run support from an RBI double from Eugenio Suárez and Raleigh’s big blast was huge in helping him settle. It also drowned out the crowd of the enclosed venue before the game really got going -- and they helped skyrocket the pitch count for Alek Manoah, who, despite settling in after two shaky innings, only reached 5 2/3 frames.

“Very good, going up there and having the lead on us, knowing that our team was doing good,” Castillo said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “That gives me that little extra energy when I go on the mound.”

Raleigh also received huge praise for guiding Castillo behind the plate, particularly in executing the gameplan of utilizing Castillo’s running fastball in on Toronto’s right-handed-heavy lineup.

“He has earned the trust of our entire coaching staff, especially our pitching coaches,” Servais said. “Cal is really good at staying in the moment, understanding how to work through a lineup, and based on what the pitcher has that day and what's working and what's not working and having the ability to make in-game adjustments.”

Raleigh, a North Carolina native, grew up with a bat in his hand, a natural byproduct of being the son of Todd Raleigh, who played college baseball then coached at those ranks for nearly 20 years, most notably at the University of Tennessee from 2008-11.

“He gets it. He is looking forward to this,” Servais said. “I think a big advantage for him, you know, he grew up in a household, his dad was a long-time coach. He gets how coaches think. He's thinking along with us. I have a ton of confidence in him in leading our pitching staff.”

After a topsy-turvy first year in 2021 and a sluggish start to ‘22 that included a Minor League demotion in April, Raleigh has become one of the most important offensive pieces for a Mariners team that’s on the cusp of advancing to the next round.