Cal Raleigh, Mariners Catcher, Wins Home Run Derby

Cal Raleigh Crowned Home Run Derby Champion

Seattle Mariners star and MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh made history by becoming the first catcher to win the All-Star Home Run Derby, defeating Tampa Bay Rays young infielder Junior Caminero in the final round. Raleigh hit 18 home runs, surpassing Caminero’s 15 in the final round. With this victory, he joins Ken Griffey Jr. as the only Mariners players to win this event.

“Usually, the home run leader doesn’t win the whole event. It’s as surprising to me as it is to anyone else,” Raleigh commented.

Cal Raleigh

The Raleigh pitcher was his father, Todd, former coach at Tennessee and Western Carolina, while his younger brother, Todd Raleigh Jr., was the catcher.

“Doing it with my family was incredible,” Raleigh expressed.

Cal Raleigh

Raleigh was close to being eliminated in the first round, tying with Brent Rooker with 17 home runs. However, Raleigh won the tiebreaker by the narrowest margin, with his longest home run reaching 470.61 feet, surpassing Rooker’s 470.53 feet. Caminero, Raleigh, Oneil Cruz, and Buxton advanced to the next round, after a first round with the lowest total in more than a decade, where Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit only three home runs.

“It was fun. I enjoyed every second. You can’t ask for a better experience,” Chisholm said.

Jazz Chisholm

Cruz produced the highlight of the first round with a 513-foot home run, the longest of the event. He is the sixth player to hit a home run of more than 500 feet in the Derby since it began being recorded in 2016, and the second to achieve it outside of Coors Field. Raleigh averaged 447 feet in the first round, but was surpassed by Raleigh in the semifinals, where the latter connected 19 home runs. Raleigh impressed the crowd by batting both left-handed and right-handed during the first round, connecting 10 home runs from the left side and seven from the right. He is the first switch hitter to win the event. Meanwhile, Rooker expressed confusion about his last moments in the first round, where each player had 40 pitches and 3 minutes to hit home runs. Raleigh leads MLB with 38 home runs in the regular season.