Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh leads MLB with a head-turning 32 home runs. He had another dinger in store Friday morning.
Raleigh, affectionately nicknamed “Big Dumper,” broke the news on Instagram that he’ll be participating in this year’s Home Run Derby.
“It’s really cool,” Raleigh, a Cullowhee, North Carolina, native, said, via MLB.com. “Obviously, for all my family, it’ll be easy for them to get to. And friends have already been texting me and asking if I would do it. So now hopefully I can put their mind at ease a little bit.”
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Raleigh is the second player to announce his Derby participation. The 28-year-old Mariners star joins Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who declared earlier this week that he’s in for the event. Acuña will be the hometown favorite, with All-Star festivities taking place in Atlanta’s Truist Park.
There are now six Derby spots remaining.
The 28-year-old, switch-hitting Raleigh is putting together a 2025 campaign that begs the question whether he can become the first catcher to win AL MVP since Joe Mauer in 2009.
Raleigh is currently slashing .275/.380/.651 with 32 homers, an MLB-leading 69 RBI and 15 doubles. The Florida State product already has his third straight 30-plus-homer season in the bag, and he’s on pace to shatter his single-season career high of 34 home runs, set last season.
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He also has more than just power. The 2024 Gold Glove Award winner is a reliable backstop. He leads MLB in innings caught since 2023. He has started all but two of the Mariners’ first 80 games this season, and rather than taking full days off, he often slides into the designated hitter role when taking a breather from behind-the-plate duties.
Raleigh signed a six-year, $105 million extension in March. He’s giving Seattle a ton of value for its money and has a chance to become the first catcher to hit 50 homers in a season.
If Raleigh switch-hits in the Derby, he’ll be the second player to do so. Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman was the first in 2023.
