It’s the dream of every kid who picks up a baseball bat. The score is tied, 1-1. It’s the bottom of the ninth inning. With one swing, you have the chance to make history. That’s the situation Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh found himself in on 30 September 2022. His manager called him up to bat with the game on the line. If his team won, they’d end a 20-year playoff drought. So, what did Raleigh do? He smacked a full-count, pinch-hit, walk-off dinger deep to right field. Cue: the victory music.
After he rounded the bases, Raleigh’s teammates swarmed him, lifted him on to their shoulders and crowned him with a plastic bubblegum bucket. The Pacific Northwest had new baseball royalty and it was about time. For a franchise that had long been promised the next great prospect – from Justin Smoak to Dustin Ackley – it seemed as if the 26-year-old Raleigh was delivering in real-time. No one wanted to jinx it, but many in Seattle crossed their fingers and toes.
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This kind of stuff isn’t supposed to happen in Seattle. While the city has ardent baseball fans, the Mariners have, in large part, long been underwhelming. To date, the Mariners remain the only squad in Major League Baseball never to play in a World Series. Save a few stints in the mid-1990s and early-2000s, the Mariners have mostly been irrelevant on the baseball map. What they have had though, is some excellent individual players, including MVPs in Ken Griffey Jr and Ichiro Suzuki. But who knew their fortunes in 2025 would live and die on a catcher nicknamed “The Big Dumper”?
If you ask Raleigh, he’ll admit that he’s always had a large posterior. Throughout his life it’s been a topic of conversation, hence his nickname. Raleigh’s former teammate Jarred Kelenic spilled the beans about the name, which would make Seattleite Sir Mix-a-Lot proud. It was Kelenic who shared the “Big Dumper” name on Twitter in 2021 when Raleigh was called up to the big leagues. And while Raleigh’s mom wasn’t initially a fan of the term, the catcher told ESPN’s Mina Kimes that it’s “grown on her”.
Raleigh says he likes it, too. He told Kimes that he appreciates that fans have something, well, to “gravitate towards.” But along with the nickname, his reputation is growing, too. As of today, Raleigh was leading MLB in home runs. He has 33 while the two sluggers behind him – Aaron Judge and Shoei Ohtani – have 30 and 29 respectively. The switch-hitting Raleigh is also leading the sport in RBI with 71.
These stats, along with Raleigh’s recent Gold and Platinum Glove Awards, which were given to him for his outstanding fielding, inspire fans to regularly rain down “MVP” chants. The son of a baseball coach, Raleigh knows, however, not to pay much attention to all the praise. It’s early in the year and the Ms are in the middle of a postseason race. Besides, catchers are normally not the sort to seek extra limelight and Raleigh is cut from that same cloth. Still, fun is fun. That’s why he’s accepted a spot in this year’s Home Run Derby.
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And who will be throwing meatballs for him to hit over the fence in the competition? His father. Born in Cullowhee, North Carolina, Raleigh went to high school in the Tarheel State. He attended college at Florida State University, and the Mariners drafted him with the 90th pick in 2018. He got his call to play in the majors on 11 July 2021, and he’s been improving steadily ever since. In 2022, which was his first full year with the M’s, Raleigh hit .211 with 27 home runs. Now, he’s raced well past those numbers.
Raleigh told Kimes that he found ways to improve his game by assessing his hitting like an opposing catcher. The backstop wondered, “How would I get myself out?” In that way, he’s not only worked on his strengths, he’s poked at his deficiencies to shore them up. But Raleigh doesn’t just hit and field well. As the team’s No. 1 catcher, he’s also partly responsible for the success of the team’s pitching staff, which has been one of the best in baseball of late. With a rotation featuring names like Bryan Woo and Logan Gilbert, Raleigh has to keep their games in mind, too.
So far 2025 has been up and down for the Mariners. The team has endured a few losing streaks, but it’s also enjoyed several weeks leading their American League West division. Today, they are in prime position to earn a wildcard spot in the playoffs, but there’s still a lot of season left. Thankfully for Ms fans, the franchise is led by Raleigh. While the squad’s cool as ice center fielder Julio Rodriguez is the multi-time All-Star and $400m man, Raleigh, who’s under contract for six years and $105m, is the team’s most productive offensive player.
But both guys are helping to stoke the fires of hope for Mariners loyalists. While many in Seattle wanted more from the team after their brilliant 2022 finish, which saw them win a Wild Card game against Toronto and move onto the Divisional Series round, there is a sense that the Ms have momentum now. Though they have missed the playoffs every year since 2022, despite coming close several times, now, with the MLB home run leader behind the plate, the city’s hope for an extended 2025 seems especially valid.
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Best of all for those in the Emerald City: The potential 2025 MLB MVP likes playing in Seattle. He says he wants to stay in the area and proved that in the offseason by signing a six-year, $105m extension to stay with the Ms. That contract will keep him in the city through 2030. “This place has always felt like home,” Raleigh said when he signed the deal, adding, “I won’t stop grinding until this city gets what it deserves, and that is a perennial playoff team and a World Series championship.”
For a region that knows a lot about songwriting, that’s music to many ears.
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