ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Cal Raleigh approached the All-Star Home Run Derby like a day on the lawn. Dad was on the mound and baby brother was behind the plate.<\/p>\n
Only this time, there were tens of thousands looking on at Truist Park and a $1 million prize.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes all the way back to him coming home and me forcing him to throw me a ball and hit it in the backyard or in the house or something probably shouldn\u2019t be doing,\u201d a beaming Cal said, flanked by Todd and Todd Jr. after defeating Tampa Bay\u2019s Junior Caminero 18-15 in the final round Monday night.<\/p>\n
Todd Raleigh, former coach of Tennessee and Western Carolina, threw the pitches and Cal\u2019s 15-year-old brother, Todd Raleigh Jr., did the catching. A first-time All-Star at age 28, Cal became the first switch-hitter and first catcher to win the title. He\u2019s the second Mariners player to take the title after three-time winner Ken Griffey Jr., who was on the field, snapping photos.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnybody that\u2019s ever played baseball as a kid dreams of stuff like this,\u201d Cal\u2019s dad said. \u201cI dreamed of it. He dreamed of it. When you\u2019re a parent, you look at it differently because you want your kids to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leading the major leagues with 38 home runs at the All-Star break, Cal almost didn\u2019t make it past the first round. The Mariners\u2019 breakout slugger nicknamed Big Dumper and the Athletics\u2019 Brent Rooker each hit 17 homers, and Raleigh advanced on a tiebreaker for longest long ball: 470.61 feet to 470.53 \u2014 or 0.96 inches. At first, Cal wasn\u2019t aware whether there would be a swing-off.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn inch off, and I\u2019m not even in the final four, which is amazing,\u201d Cal said. \u201cSo I guess I got lucky there. One extra biscuit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raleigh totaled 54 homers. He won his semifinal 19-13 over Pittsburgh\u2019s Oneil Cruz, whose 513-foot first-round drive over the right-center field seats was the longest of the night.<\/p>\n
Cal\u2019s brother, nicknamed T, kept yelling encouragement to the brother he so admires.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis swag, the way he plays, the way he hustles,\u201d T said.<\/p>\n
Hitting second in the final round, the 22-year-old Caminero closed within three dingers \u2014 MLB counted one that a fan outfielder caught with an over-the-wall grab. Using a multicolored bat and down to his last out, Caminero took three pitches and hit a liner to left. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think I was going to hit as many home runs or make it to the finals,\u201d Caminero said through a translator.<\/p>\n
Cal was just the second Derby switch-hitter after Baltimore\u2019s Adley Rutschman in 2023. His dad was a righty and wanted both his sons to hit from both sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it from the first day, when he was in diapers, literally,\u201d Todd Sr. said. \u201cI would take that big ball and he had a big red bat. I\u2019d throw it slow and he\u2019d hit it. Then I\u2019d say stay there, pick him up, turn him around, switch his hands and do it again. I was a catcher. I played a little bit, and I just knew what a premium it was. I didn\u2019t want either one of my boys to ever say, am I right-handed or left-handed?\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a downside.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t recommend it if you have two kids, they\u2019re both switch hitters, if you want to save your arm, because that\u2019s a lot of throwing,\u201d said dad, who had rotator cuff surgery.<\/p>\n
Raleigh hit his first eight homers left-handed, took a timeout, then hit seven right-handed. Going back to lefty, he hit two more in the bonus round and stayed lefty for the rest of the night.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas grooving a little bit more lefty so we were like, since we have a chance to win, we might as well stick to the side that\u2019s working a little better,\u201d Cal said.<\/p>\n
Caminero beat Minnesota\u2019s Byron Buxton 8-7 in the other semifinal. Atlanta\u2019s Matt Olson, Washington\u2019s James Wood, the New York Yankees\u2019 Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Rooker were eliminated in the first round of the annual power show. <\/p>\n
Cruz\u2019s long drive was the hardest-hit at 118 mph.<\/p>\n
Wood hit 16 homers, including one that landed on the roof of the Chop House behind the right-field wall. Olson, disappointing his hometown fans, did not go deep on his first nine swings and finished with 15, Chisholm hit just three homers, the fewest since the timer format started in 2015.<\/p>\n
After it was all over, the Raleighs headed out. Stephanie, the boys\u2019 mom and Todd Sr.’s wife, is surrounded by baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe kind of leave it in the cage. We\u2019ve got a cage at home, a building,\u201d Todd Sr. said. \u201cOr we leave it in the car on the rides home. There\u2019s probably been a few times where she says, yeah, that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
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