In 2022, when Cal Raleigh drilled a walk-off homer near the right-field foul pole to send the Mariners to their first postseason since 2001, bullpen coach Tony Arnerich told him, \u201cThe Big Dumper just became famous in Seattle.\u201d When Raleigh this season became the first catcher to win a Home Run Derby, Arnerich told Raleigh his oft-used nickname was now \u201ckinda famous everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
This October, there\u2019s no \u201ckinda\u201d to it: Raleigh is a bona fide star. He is coming off a 60-homer regular season in which he surpassed Ken Griffey Jr. for the Mariners record, smashed Mickey Mantle\u2019s mark (54) for switch-hitters, and set a new bar for home runs from a catcher, passing Salvador Perez, who hit 48 in 2021. And he\u2019s now the most notable player on a talented Mariners team that will need to overcome Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers in a win-or-go-home Game 5 of the AL Divisional Series in Seattle on Friday.<\/p>\n
In the first four games of the series, Raleigh is 7-for-16 (.438) \u00a0\u2014the highest average among playoff catchers\u2014 with a homer, two runs scored and an OPS of 1.188. But for all of his on-field exploits this season, Raleigh has been equally impressive in how he\u2019s handled the moments away from the spotlight.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s the ball that snuck under his mask and hit him in the throat the night he passed Griffey. The elbow that bothered him for days after being hit by a foul tip earlier this season. The swollen finger from catching a sinker wrong. The endless balls to the ankles, the legs, the face. His daily pre- and postgame routine involves the training room because it has to. Following Game 3\u2019s homer in Detroit, Raleigh\u2019s right forearm was wrapped. Every night Raleigh absorbs another hit somewhere. He loathes being asked if he\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll say, \u2018Don\u2019t ask me that,\u2019\u201d Arnerich said. \u201cHe hates when the trainers come out, too. He\u2019s really tough, it\u2019s not an act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, Raleigh played with a broken tooth during an April game against the Texas Rangers. When he hit the walk off in 2022, Raleigh was playing with a broken left thumb and torn ligament. Last year, there was more finger pain, depending on which way Raleigh caught a pitch. Still, he won a Platinum Glove, the sport\u2019s highest defensive honor.<\/p>\n
This is how you create a winning culture, when your best player is also the poster boy for hard work. For a typical night game at the start of a series, Raleigh is at the park more than six hours early. There\u2019s a team staff meeting at 1 and a catchers\u2019 meeting at 1:30 where the group goes over the previous series and dives into the next opponent, going in depth on every hitter on the roster (for the Tigers series, the catchers were able to hold that meeting on the Friday off day). That meeting is at least a half-hour and then Raleigh is off to the cold tub, hot tub, training work and weight room.<\/p>\n
Pregame, it\u2019s a lot of preventative stuff. Then Raleigh switches into hitter mode, where he will go down to the cages and take swings. Being a switch hitter means double the work. Occasionally he\u2019ll take batting practice on the field, but often he\u2019ll go back into the cage while the team does. After batting practice, Raleigh will meet with the starting pitcher, pitching coach Pete Woodworth and an analyst to go through that night\u2019s opposing batting order and a plan of attack.<\/p>\n
Then he\u2019s back to offensive mode in the daily hitters\u2019 meeting analyzing the opposing starter and any potential relievers. After that, he returns to the weight room for movement prep and the cage for challenging drills off a machine, where \u2013again\u2013 Raleigh goes from the left and right side of the plate.<\/p>\n
Raleigh\u2019s routine ends in the bullpen with pregame prep drills with Arnerich, who is also the team\u2019s catching instructor, where he practices receiving and blocking balls and his footwork. The pair will play catch and then warm up the starting pitcher. On the road, Raleigh preps the starter and then goes back to the dugout, where he\u2019ll get an at-bat in the top of the first as the Mariners\u2019 No. 2 hitter.<\/p>\n
This is all before Raleigh crouches behind the plate for roughly three hours, calling 150 pitches a night and manning a 13-person pitching staff\u2019s stuff, repertoire, and personality. He is part NFL coordinator, part quarterback. He has two jobs: hitting and catching, though as a switch-hitter it\u2019s really three. He\u2019s also the guy in charge of knowing each pitcher\u2019s personalities and mound visit preference \u2013 who to push and who to encourage \u2014 and how to interact with the umpire to get borderline calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably four jobs,\u201d Arnerich says, with a laugh of disbelief, calling the last one part-therapist. \u201cI don\u2019t think people realize how hard it is, what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is, in the words of one executive, a massive investment of time and emotional energy. Something we may never see again.<\/p>\n