Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is being rewarded for his historic start to the season. On Wednesday, Raleigh was named a starter for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, earning his first All-Star nod while being voted the best catcher in the American League.
But while Raleigh is pleased about the opportunity, he has another reason to be grateful All-Star voting has ended. While speaking with reporters ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, Raleigh said he’ll be happy to have a little bit less publicity.
“Obviously, I’m very blessed, very excited and very honored. It’s a cool accomplishment,” Raleigh said, via The Seattle Times’ Adam Jude, before adding: “I’m just glad it’s kind of over, too. Seeing your face everywhere is a little uncomfortable. But I was just very happy.”
Raleigh, a Seattle fan favorite with a notorious nickname, has burst onto the national scene this season with a hot streak of homers. The 28-year-old catcher has hit a league-high 33 home runs so far (nearly a career high) while boasting a .272 average that far exceeds his previous seasons. In addition to his All-Star bid, Raleigh’s early run also earned him a spot in the Home Run Derby.
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For weeks, the Mariners have been pushing Raleigh’s talents with “for your consideration”-style posts. These posts have used peaches as a recurring motif — both as a reference to Atlanta and Georgia and as a nod to Raleigh’s “Big Dumper” nickname.
For Monday’s game against the Royals, as All-Star voting wrapped up, Seattle altered its walk-up music in honor of Raleigh’s nickname, with a playlist of songs about butts. Julio Rodriguez walked up to T-Pain’s “Booty Wurk.” Randy Arozarena took the plate to Kelis’ “Milkshake.” Raleigh himself had Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” as his walk-up song.
Now, all of that is over for Raleigh, who says he celebrated the news with the team and Mariners manager Dan Wilson on Wednesday. The catcher added that he apologized to the team for “all this nonsense that’s been going on for the last couple days, with all the voting and stuff.
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“Dan said a lot of nice words. All the guys were very happy, congratulated me. It means a lot,” he added.
Raleigh himself is getting a well-deserved rest Wednesday, with catcher Mitch Garver filling in. But even with the All-Star Game in two weeks on July 15, Raleigh is looking beyond that.
“This is kind of like a dream come true with an All-Star Game and being a starter, but we definitely have bigger things ahead,” Raleigh said. “We’re looking forward to October with these guys and winning the World Series with them. That’s the real dream.”
