Even with the somewhat impersonal nature of a video conference, the high regard and mutual respect Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore held for each other’s preparation and performance — which helped both win a 2024 Gold Glove award — was unmistakable.
The two Mariners teammates talked with local media Monday after the announcement Sunday.
“I’m super excited for him,” Raleigh said of Moore. “What he does on a daily basis is super hard. It’s something that doesn’t go unnoticed by us. That utility role, it’s harder than you think. Every day, having to carry four different gloves on the field and never knowing exactly where you’re going to play that day — it could be at shortstop, first base or in the outfield, it doesn’t really matter to him.
“He does a great job of preparing every day. He gets reps in each spot, and it’s just hard. It’s a skill that I’ve learned is something really valuable and something every single team needs.”
Despite being one of the longest-tenured players on the Mariners roster, Moore isn’t afraid to label Raleigh a leader in large part because of his commitment to defense.
“I felt like it was a no-brainer giving him the Gold Glove,” Moore said. “He’s a rock. He’ll play through anything. He gets worn out back there. But he’s our guy. He’s the captain behind the plate besides J.P. (Crawford) in the infield. He’s going to go out there every day, through injury. It’s a really tough position to play in. It’s not just like the big injuries, but the dings off the mask, off any part of your body.
“Every single day he’s going through something, and he was throwing guys out, he was calling the game, he was doing all that stuff. It’s a really, it’s a really tough thing to do. And on top of that, he hit 30 homers, which is unbelievable.”
A catcher with an old-school mentality, Raleigh has always prioritized the work behind the plate more than preparing for his at-bats. He was a finalist for a Gold Glove in 2022, and the Mariners felt he should’ve been a finalist in 2023. This season he seemed to be a lock to win the award.
“It’s always nice to kind of see your hard work pay off,” Raleigh said. “It was something, personally for me going into the season, I wanted to contend for. I have in the past and just never won it. It was really cool. You get to share it with your family and friends, and something that you know doesn’t happen every day.”
Raleigh also was named as finalist for the Silver Slugger award Monday, and he began preparation for the 2025 season earlier that day. After taking a month off to let his body recover from catching 135 games and 1,122 innings — the most in MLB — he started his offseason workouts at the Mariners’ spring-training facility in Peoria, Ariz.
“You don’t miss those foul tips or foul balls, all those little bruises,” he said. “You don’t miss those at all. But it’s actually kind of funny, my body feels all tight and worse now that I’m not moving every day. I worked out for the first time today, trying to get my body moving again, get it back into shape and not just sitting around every day.
“When I do that, you get a little stiff and you lose a little flexibility, so it’s time to get moving again.”
Moore was stunned when he received the call informing him he’d won a Gold Glove.
“I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Moore recalled.
After telling his wife and then calling his parents, Moore called infield coach Perry Hill to thank him for the hours of work and instruction.
“He said, ‘That’s awesome,’ and said, ‘You deserve it,’” Moore said. “I told him how much it means to me to do this for him. He’s had 11 or 12 Gold Glovers now, and it speaks to his level of teaching the infield and the skills of fielding. He’s the man.”
A middle infielder in high school and college, Moore began to move to other positions in the minor leagues. The Mariners acquired him before the 2019 season as a potential utility player. It was his path to the big leagues.
“I realized the value pretty quickly, making the team out of spring training, knowing I’m going to be the guy that’s going to be able to fill all those roles,” he said. “I was looking around the league, and I’m like, ‘Hey, if they’re not worried about me on defense, they could plug me in anywhere and I’m gonna get more at-bats.’ And that’s the key. That’s what you want to do. Individually, if you’re looking at your career as a whole, you want to get the most at-bats possible.”
Former AquaSox player wins Gold Glove
On Monday morning, Minor League Baseball and Rawlings announced the nine winners of the 2024 Gold Glove awards, which encompasses all 11 full-season leagues.
Mariners prospect player Brock Rodden was chosen for the Gold Glove award at second base.
Rodden, 24, began the season with High-A Everett, playing in 64 games. He started 53 games at second base and nine at third base, committing six errors in 551 chances. He closed the season with Double-A Arkansas, playing in 67 games with the Travelers — 34 starts at second base, 14 at shortstop and eight at third base — committing nine errors in 577 chances.
A fifth-round selection in the 2023 MLB draft out of Wichita State, Rodden is rated as the No. 22 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline and No. 23 by Baseball America
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