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⚾ Good morning to all but especially to …
CAL RALEIGH
Who says catchers can’t win the Homer Run Derby? Certainly not Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh, who became the first player at that position to win the event in MLB history.
In his quest for history, Raleigh blasted 54 home runs, including a combined 37 in the final two rounds. In the semifinals, Raleigh cruised past Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz, who blasted a 513-foot homer earlier in the night. The final round against Junior Caminero was a little closer, but Raleigh had enough cushion for an 18-15 win.
Raleigh made history as a catcher, but his Home Run Derby victory was special for more reasons than that. Raleigh had his father, Todd, pitching to him and his brother, Todd Jr., behind the plate. And the hardware included a title belt handed to him by former WWE champion Cody Rhodes.
Here are a few more notes on the “Big Dumper” and his dinger-filled night at Truist Park.
First favorite to win the HR Derby since Bryce Harper in 2018.Joins Ken Griffey Jr. (3x) as the only Mariners to win the event.Raleigh’s win ties Mariners with Yankees for most HR Derby wins at four.Most home runs (38) by any HR Derby winner going into All-Star break.
Raleigh’s night almost ended before the second round even started In the first round, he tied A’s star Brent Rooker with 17 home runs, and it came down to a game of inches inch. Raleigh’s longest home run went just 0.96 inches farther than Rooker’s for the tiebreaker.
A banner day for Raleigh wasn’t limited to jacking home runs out of the park. Hours before his monster night at the plate, Raleigh was named to Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Although Raleigh was the star of the show, there were plenty of other memorable moments, including a kid robbing Caminero of a home run in the championship round and Jazz Chisholm Jr. turning in the worst…
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