Time is the universe’s most powerful force. Time never stops. Time heals wounds. Time is constant, no matter the events of a day, month, year or millennia.
Wait, sorry. That was a little existential. What I really mean is that time zones are also an immovable force, particularly in the sports world, where it doesn’t matter how many forms of media we have to consume — if a certain player plays while half of the country is asleep, he or she is bound to be undercovered. Or even, to an extent, unknown.
That’s Cal Raleigh. He has every trait of a beloved baseball superstar: historic stats, fun highlights and, most importantly, an elite nickname. Three things to know about Big Dumper:
Yes, the stats. Raleigh hit his 32nd home run last night, which puts him on pace for 67 dingers this year. That’s impressive on its own, but it’s astounding coming from an everyday catcher like Raleigh, who’s also a great defender behind the plate. Any fantasy owner will tell you how hard it is to find an elite offensive catcher. Raleigh, 28, is the best one in baseball right now. Did I mention he’s a switch hitter, too?
… and he’s on track to post the best offensive season for a catcher in history, at least by certain metrics. Raleigh already has the most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break, surpassing Johnny Bench’s 28. He’s on pace for about 10.7 fWAR, which would blow by Buster Posey’s record 9.8. Yowza. See more of those stats here.
The nickname? The origin of Big Dumper is just as juvenile as you hoped. Former Mariners teammate Jarred Kelenic coined the nickname when the two played in the minor leagues together and tweeted it out when Raleigh got promoted to the majors. It took off, and now kids are wearing custom jerseys with “Big Dumper” on the back.
Let’s go back to the home runs for a second, too, because his pace is more than remarkable. In the famous 1998 home run race, Mark McGwire entered the All-Star break with 37 homers, with Ken Griffey Jr. (35) and Sammy Sosa (33) close behind. Raleigh has 32 right now with 19 games left before the break.
All hail Big Dumper. If you’re not on the West Coast, maybe stay up and catch a Mariners game.
P.S. The best part? The Mariners bought out Raleigh’s arbitration years with a six-year, $105 million deal in March that both pays Raleigh more than he would’ve gotten under the current system and already appears to be a steal.
AL Player of the Week
Major League Baseball announced today Raleigh has been selected as the American League Player of the Week for June 16-22. It marks Raleigh’s second weekly award of the season, also winning AL Co-Player of the Week at the beginning of June.
Raleigh, 28, hit .417 (10×24) with 10 runs scored, 2 doubles, 5 home runs, 12 RBI and 3 walks, going 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts in 6 games during the week. He registered a .481 on-base percentage, slugging 1.125 with a 1.606 OPS.
The Mariners catcher hit a number of history-making home runs, including his 4 homers during the 3-game series at the Cubs. On June 20, Cal’s multi-homer game gave him 29 on the season, surpassing Hall of Famer Johnny Bench (1970) for most homers hit by a catcher before the All-Star Break.
Raleigh hit home run #30 on June 21, making him the first catcher in MLB history to reach 30 home runs before the end of June. The 30th homer also meant Cal’s third career 30+ homer season, joining Hall of Fame catchers Mike Piazza (9x), Johnny Bench (4x) and Roy Campanella (4x) as the only catchers with three or more 30+ home run seasons. Raleigh and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. (3x) are the only Mariners to hit 30+ homers before the All-Star Break in team history.
The switch-hitting catcher goes into the current Minnesota series having homered in 3 consecutive contests, tallying 5 homers over his last 5 games. He scored 8 runs during the Mariners series win at the Cubs, tying an MLB record for most runs scored by a catcher during a 3-game series. Also on June 21, his 30 homers across the team’s first 75 games of the season made him the fastest player to reach the 30-homer mark since Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez in 2001.
On June 17, Cal went 3-for-4 with a grand slam, 6 RBI, stolen base, and caught an 8-0 shutout all in the same game vs. the Red Sox at T-Mobile Park.
In 75 games this season, Raleigh is batting .276 (77×279) with 55 runs, 14 doubles, 31 home runs, 66 RBI, 45 walks and 9 stolen bases. His 31 homers lead the Majors, while his 66 RBI lead the American League. Cal is one stolen base away from joining Hall of Fame catchers Carlton Fisk (37 HR, 17 SB) in 1985 and Iván Rodríguez (35 HR, 25 SB) in 1999 as the only catchers with a 30+ home run, 10+ stolen base season.
The Mariners lead the Majors in weekly award winners this season, with the following players winning AL Player of the Week: Dylan Moore (April 19), Jorge Polanco (April 26), and Raleigh twice now (June 2, June 23).
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