SEATTLE – Cal Raleigh’s 60th home run, the Mariners’ star catcher, has catapulted him into a very exclusive club within professional baseball, marking an unforgettable moment in the stands of T-Mobile Park.
During Wednesday night’s victory, with a score of 9-2 over the Colorado Rockies, which secured Seattle its first American League West title in 24 years, the fan who caught the ball from Raleigh’s 60th home run, gave it to a child in the right field stands.
The team’s security personnel took the boy and his father to authenticate the ball. The Mariners reported that the boy exchanged the ball for a bat signed by Raleigh and an invitation to witness batting practice on the field.
The Mariners’ senior communications manager, Adam Gresch, put out a call on social media on Thursday, asking anyone who knew “this incredible fan” to send him a direct message. The call worked, as Gresch tweeted later that same day that the fan, identified only as Glenn, met with Raleigh before the final game of Seattle’s series against the Rockies.
According to Gresch, Raleigh gave Glenn and his family a signed bat and two baseballs, which the fan gave to his children.
Ruelos explained that his 12-year-old son, Marcus, never mentioned the possibility of asking for money for the ball. The Mariners offered the signed bat and took the family’s contact information, and that was the end of it.I told my son the lesson: ‘Whatever happens, this is the kind of moment you should replicate later in life'”, said Galan Ruelos.
Galan Ruelos
My son whispered to me and said, ‘Dad, since it’s Cal, I want him to have the ball,'” said Galan Ruelos. “He was never thinking about whether we were going to keep it for money. That didn’t even cross his mind.
Galan Ruelos
Raleigh joins a select group of seven players in Major League history who have reached 60 home runs in a season, alongside Babe Ruth (1927), Roger Maris (1961), Mark McGwire (1998 and 1999), Sammy Sosa (1998, 1999, 2001), Barry Bonds (2001), and Aaron Judge (2022). With four games remaining, Raleigh could surpass Judge and set a new American League record. Judge hit 62 home runs in 2022, breaking the previous AL mark of 61 set by Maris.We have the future MVP, hopefully, and [Marcus] touched history. That’s something more precious. He will live with that forever.
Galan Ruelos
