Cal Raleigh finds an unlikely home in Seattle
The Mariners lock in their franchise catcher for the prime of his career
Cal Raleigh, dressed in his batting practice warmups, took the stage for his press conference announcing the six-year, $105M extension with the team that drafted and developed him, flanked by Mariners owner John Stanton and team president and GMs Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander. In the front row, his family, flown in from North Carolina, beamed up at him. The back of the room was filled with his new family—his Mariners coaches and teammates, including most of the starting rotation.
It was a day that almost didn’t come; not in Mariner blue, at least. The North Carolina-born, Florida State-educated Raleigh reportedly had a pre-draft deal with the Atlanta Braves, who were planning to take him in the fourth round. The Mariners made sure Braves Country would not include Raleigh, swooping in to take the burly backstop in the third round, two rounds after drafting eventual Opening Day batterymate Logan Gilbert. It was a bit of a culture shock for Raleigh at first, who had one vision of his professional life whisked away in an instant and replaced with another, but as he’s grown comfortable as a big-leaguer, he’s also grown comfortable in his second city.
“I didn’t know a lot about Seattle at the beginning, to be honest, but I slowly learned the culture, learned what this city, what this organization, was all about, and kind of fell in love with it. Especially since that 20222 season, when we made a run in the playoffs, this city has really embraced not just me, but all of our guys.”
Of the things Raleigh has enjoyed about the city: the summer weather, of course (“if I was playing in Atlanta, I’d be sweating every day,” he said cheekily); places he likes to go out and eat and do things around the city, and the friends he’s made, in the organization and outside of it.
“It’s been great, it’s become a second home for me.”
“And maybe now I can look into buying a house here,” he added with a laugh.
But what it really came down to for Raleigh wasn’t the money, but the fact that he felt a shared vision with the organization in a desire to bring playoff baseball and a World Series championship to the city of Seattle. The health of the organization also played a role in his decision: the strength of the young pitching staff, and the future players coming up—not just the quantity of prospects, but the quality.
“Looking ahead to the future, a lot of good young prospects,” said Cal, himself just a few years removed from being a prospect himself. “I know you can’t always count on that, but a lot of guys with good makeup, and guys where I like what I saw from spring training. I do believe we’ve got a lot of good things going here, especially with some guys already locked up, I think it’s a good mix.”
With his own deal signed, Cal now turns his attention to bigger matters, like setting team culture.
“Mr. Stanton and these guys here at the table [GMs Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander] have given me this responsibility to come here and want me to lead this team and want me to be the one to take the reins, somebody who can help this team get to the playoffs and win a World Series, and that’s the way I’m looking at it. Nothing’s going to change in the sense of how I prepare, what the goal is. But it just feels really good, that these guys believe in me and what we’re doing here.”
“Now it’s going to be one of my jobs to be a leader and to be a guy who can make this team into a consistent winner, and somebody that can set the culture the right way here. So that’s what I’m really looking forward to.”
The mark that Raleigh has already made on this organization became clear as his pitching staff filed into the conference room where his presser was being held: every member of the starting rotation except tonight’s starter, Luis Castillo, and George Kirby, currently on the IL, plus a handful of the relievers—Gabe Speier, Trent Thornton, and Tayler Saucedo—as well as assorted members of the Mariners coaching staff took seats towards the back of the room. A couple even asked questions: Bryce Miller pondered why Cal let Logan Gilbert put down his credit card when they all went out to eat the other night (“the deal wasn’t done yet!” protested Cal), and Bryan Woo wondered what gift Cal would be bestowing on his starters, much like when a QB signs a big contract and gifts his O-line Rolexes (“I’m pretty sure that’s the other way around” said Cal, “pitchers take care of the catcher, right?”). Raleigh gave it right back, saying he’s “unfortunately” had to room with some of his pitching staff (pretty clearly a dig at his organizational brother Logan Gilbert), but he appreciates having had them all by his side during this journey.
“These guys mean a lot to me. . .It’s special when you have those relationships, and it makes it even better, when I know I’m going to be here a lot longer and share a lot of memories with these guys.”
It might not have been the place he thought he was going to make memories, but sometimes life leads you down paths you don’t expect. Cal’s mom, Stephanie, said that when Cal was drafted into the organization, she was shocked by all the acquaintances and far-flung family members she heard from, with offers of things like dinners and places to stay. Western North Carolina to the Northwest maybe isn’t as far as the family first thought.
Cal opened his press conference by thanking everyone for coming, apologizing for some “awkward” timing with it being Opening Day, and he closed it with the same humility. After Mariners PR had called an end to the press conference, Cal said, “I have one more thing, actually” and proceeded to give an emotional speech that saw the normally stoic catcher tear up, at times unable to speak, as he thanked his coaches and teammates, his mom and dad “for giving me all the opportunities in the world,” and his brother and sisters for always being there for him. It was a glimpse into the sacrifices the family-oriented Raleigh made, being three time zones and thousands of miles away from his family.
“I know it’s hard” —he paused to compose himself, his voice breaking— “being all the way out in Seattle, but I do love it here.”
Seattle loves him back.