Seattle Mariners' Slugger Has Emphatic Answer When Asked About Home Run Derby
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At this point, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Seattle Mariners' catcher Cal Raleigh will be playing in the upcoming All-Star Game.
However, he might also be participating in the Home Run Derby, and he says he'd do it if he was asked.
Per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com:
All-Star voting is officially underway, and while Cal Raleigh is trying not to think about the possibility of being a first-time selection, he had a much different answer about the Home Run Derby.
“Yeah, I would do that in a heartbeat.”
All-Star voting is officially underway, and while Cal Raleigh is trying not to think about the possibility of being a first-time selection, he had a much different answer about the Home Run Derby.
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) June 5, 2025
“Yeah, I would do that in a heartbeat.”https://t.co/pKvufp7Dw3
Raleigh, 28, is out to an incredible start for the Mariners and enters Thursday as the American League home run leader with 23. He also has 46 RBIs and is a driving force behind the M's 32-28 record through 60 games. He's carrying an OPS+ of 190.
He's on pace to shatter his career-high of 34 homers from a season ago.
The Mariners have had several representatives at the Home Run Derby since it began in the mid-1980s, with Ken Griffey Jr. winning the competition in 1994, 1998 and 1999. Julio Rodriguez finished second to Juan Soto in 2022. Bret Boone has also participated.
July 12, 1993: Ken Griffey, Jr. is the first player to hit Baltimore's B&O Warehouse on the fly with a 460-foot shot during the Home Run Derby pic.twitter.com/uXeq4295Mx
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) July 13, 2022
Right now, Raleigh will focus on trying to get the M's out of this funk they are in. Seattle has lost six of its last nine games and has fallen to 0.5 games back in the American League West.
They'll be back at it again on Thursday afternoon when they take on the Baltimore Orioles at T-Mobile Park.
First pitch is 12:40 p.m. PT as Bryan Woo takes the mound.
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