The night before Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hit his 59th and 60th home runs of his historic season, he went viral for his words. Following a dramatic 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies that clinched Seattle a playoff berth, he told the crowd they “Might as well go win the whole (expletive) thing,” a quote from the 1989 classic comedy “Major League.”
Mariners fans aren’t used to this level of raw confidence. The 28-year-old is declaring to us — through his words and career — that it’s time for the city and its Mariner faithful to adjust our expectations as the team prepares to host playoff baseball Saturday.
Two decades of mediocrity have left so many accustomed to disappointment, jaded by failure. Forty-eight seasons, zero World Series appearances. Dwelling in the nostalgia of Ichiro, Edgar and the 2001 team, which posted a record-tying 116 wins in the regular season, was as good as things would ever get, it seemed.
But Cal is helping change the calculus.
First, with his bat. It was Raleigh who blasted a pinch homer on Sept. 30, 2022, against the Oakland Athletics to end the Mariners’ 21-year playoff drought.
Next, with his voice. Following the disappointing 2023 season, he took the team and front office to task for a failure of ambition. “We’ve got to become a better team. Straight up,” he said.
Delivering clear-eyed honesty is what good leaders do. It takes guts. Even under pressure to retract some of his sentiments, he doubled down: “I’m not going to apologize for wanting to win. I want to bring a World Series to this city. The fans deserve it.”
This year, it was the switch-hitting Big Dumper — fresh off a six-year, $105 million contract extension — who managed to go where no catcher ever has: 60 home runs in a season. This on top of being a Platinum Glove-winning catcher.
To their credit, the Mariners’ ownership and front office have parlayed a middle-of-the-league payroll into a potent farm system — which included Raleigh’s rise — and a willingness to go big in the moment to make a postseason run. They took to heart Cal’s 2023 advice and have built a gritty team that added the one-two punch of first baseman Josh Naylor and third baseman Eugenio Suarez at the trade deadline.
Lest our words ring unrealistic, it is always worth remembering: Baseball is a sport with mercurial gods. Games are won or lost on one arm, a single swing of the bat. But this is the Mariners’ best roster in years: no easy outs from no. 1 through 9; a powerhouse rotation and a lights-out bullpen.
And a nascent superstar named Cal who thinks Seattle is ready for the World Series.
It’s a team positioned for the best chance in a fickle sport.
“Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man,” wrote the poet Walter D. Wintle. “But sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.”
Raleigh believes. So should we.
