Here Are Some of the Highlights From Cal Raleigh's Appearance on 'Pardon My Take'
Homering four times in three games over the weekend, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has continued to assert himself as not only the best catcher, but one of the best players, in baseball.
His 31 home runs lead the league and he's the only player besides Ken Griffey Jr. in team history to hit 30 homers before the All-Star break. He's a virtual lock to start his first All-Star Game and he figures to be right in the mix of the American League MVP conversation.
He's also starting to get some national recognition as there is talk of him swinging in the Home Run Derby during All-Star week. And he just appeared on the popular "Pardon My Take" podcast from Barstool Sports on Tuesday (taped last Thursday).
Raleigh spent 40 or so minutes with "Big Cat" and "PFT Commenter," discussing many things, but we've taken some of our favorite moments right here, in no particular order.
Do catchers get resentful of having to take off all the equipment in order to hit once a rally starts?
My favorite part of Cal Raleigh's interview with @PardonMyTake:
— Brady Farkas (@RefuseToLosePod) June 23, 2025
Do catchers resent having to take the full pads off between innings in order to hit once a team has a rally?
No, because everything comes off every inning anyways! #TridentsUp #Mariners pic.twitter.com/TKpjyzPUyn
George Kirby's knuckleball in 2023....
Remember when Kirby threw a knuckleball on the first pitch of the final game of the season as a way to honor Tim Wakefield, who had recently passed away? Raleigh called the pitch "disgusting" and said it is one of the only knuckleballs he's ever caught. He also said that it might be a "real pitch" for Kirby (said with a chuckle).
The one thing that will never be taken from the Mariners clubhouse
Apparently in 2021, the team nutritionist tried to take the ice cream machine out of the clubhouse during the All-Star break. Raleigh said players came back from the All-Star break furious and it took all of three days or so to get it back. He added that's the one thing that will never be taken out of the clubhouse.
Nathaniel Lowe is one of the chattiest players in the batters box
Lowe, who previously played for the Texas Rangers, now plays for the Washington Nationals. Raleigh says he loves to "chirp" and loves to "chat" and he'll tell Raleigh "you know where I like it...."
Hitters who just have a different sound off the bat
Raleigh talked about the sound that the ball makes off the bat of Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and ..... Jorge Soler? He said you get a little nervous behind the plate because if Soler gets a hold of it, there's no getting the baseball back.
In addition to all this, Raleigh talked about the work he puts in with the pitching staff, his "Big Dumper" nickname and much more, including how he works with pitchers on calling pitches.
You can hear the full interview below:
The Mariners play the Minnesota Twins on Monday at 4:40 p.m. PT.
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