Mariners AL MVP candidate Cal Raleigh is in a funk (and it isn’t registering)
There is not any denying Cal Raleigh has been the guts and soul of the Seattle Mariners this season, much more so than earlier than. His catching and total protection has been as much as its standard super commonplace, nevertheless it’s what he is been doing together with his bat which has actually caught the eye of followers, media and opposing groups alike across the majors.
Raleigh is nicely heading in the right direction for the most effective offensive season of his Main League profession, highlighted by at present main the entire of baseball with 42 house runs and likewise being tied for third with 90 RBI. But he is been in a deep funk of late which, even because it extends, does not look like getting a lot consideration.
The 28-year-old was lights out by way of the top of June and rising as the primary problem to the New York Yankees’ Aaron Choose for AL MVP honors, batting .276 and producing a stellar 1.036 OPS. Since then nevertheless, issues have taken a downturn and he is hitting simply .177 and solely recording a .687 OPS.
The genesis of Cal Raleigh’s funk
The funk began on July 1, when Raleigh went 0-for-4 with 4 strikeouts in a 6-3 house loss to the Kansas Metropolis Royals. What made this much more noteworthy was that previous to the sport he went by way of his first simulated apply for the 2025 Dwelling Run Derby together with his dad, Todd, in preparation for the 2025 Dwelling Run Derby on the All-Star festivities in Atlanta.
After asserting his intention to compete within the occasion, there have been some considerations it might compromise Raleigh’s offensive impression shifting ahead. Deliberately or not, he alluded to this together with his feedback following that first simulated apply, as he stated: “It was slightly exhausting, I’m not going to lie. I realized that you have to gradual it down slightly bit and perhaps swing slightly slower, do not swing as exhausting. So I am attempting to go for extra high quality over amount.”
The 2024 Platinum Glove Award winner would subsequently do Seattle proud by turning into the primary catcher to win the Dwelling Run Derby, however there’s little escaping the truth he simply hasn’t been himself in latest weeks. Whereas there was all the time going to be some inevitable regression after his explosive begin to this season, we did beforehand write about how the Mariners have been enjoying a doubtlessly harmful recreation with him.
On the time of that article, Raleigh had performed in all 48 Mariners video games (together with 10 as DH), to place him heading in the right direction to do one thing no catcher had ever carried out: play in all 162 contests. At that time, although, supervisor Dan Wilson was not able of luxurious to have the ability to sit his clubhouse chief, as a result of mixture of accidents and too many gamers performing beneath expectations.
This case has since been remedied to a big extent and Raleigh has lastly been given some relaxation, though we’re solely speaking about three video games out of a attainable 115! (The man actually hates lacking video games.) Irrespective, there is a weird state of affairs the place he is nonetheless getting fawning protection regardless of his ongoing stoop, together with the Related Press‘ David Brandt writing about his staggering season which is main an offensive surge for catchers.
Reception is actuality for Cal Raleigh and the Mariners
In fact nobody linked with the Mariners goes to complain in regards to the 2025 All-Star nonetheless receiving optimistic recognition, however what provides for a participant who’s batting simply .177 with a .687 OPS because the starting of July? Nicely, it in all probability helps that he is nonetheless producing some explosive outcomes when he is making contact with the ball, as evidenced by 9 homers and 19 RBI.
Extra important is that the Mariners have been successful persistently throughout Raleigh’s prolonged stoop, going 18-13 in 31 video games for a .581 successful % — which might mission to 94 wins over the course of the complete season. For some context, the M’s total document of 62-53 represents a .539 % successful share, which might whole 87 victories for the entire marketing campaign.
At the very least there are some optimistic indicators, with Raleigh’s 0-for-5 night time with three strikeouts in Tuesday’s house sequence opener versus the Chicago White Sox overshadowing that he narrowly missed a few house runs. On Wednesday night time, he ended a four-game scoring drought by connecting on a two-RBI single.
It makes excellent sense why no one appears to be panicking, however this would possibly not stay the case if Raleigh does not get extra of his former mojo again before later. Nearly as good because the Mariners have been offensively total with others doing their half, it is a rather more harmful lineup when their greatest participant is contributing persistently.