Mariners' Cal Raleigh Continues to Be Among League Leaders in This Awesome Category
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is among the best hitters in baseball when the game is on the line.
According to a post from @Brooks_Gate on social media, Raleigh is No. 2 in baseball in OPS when the game is in a high-leverage situation. The ranking is for all players with at least 45 at-bats in such occasions. Raleigh trails only Jurickson Profar of the San Diego Padres in those spots. The "Big Dumper" has an OPS of 1.128 in high-leverage instances.
every player with 45+ PA in high leverage situations, ranked by their OPS in those at bats
— BrooksGate (@Brooks_Gate) August 14, 2024
(high leverage as defined by fangraphs) pic.twitter.com/W3NrApWpe7
These numbers prove what Mariners fans have already known: That Raleigh is the guy that you want up in big-time moments. He was the one who hit the drought-breaking home run in 2022, and he was the one who hit a big home run in Game 1 of the 2022 wild card series in Toronto. Furthermore, he hit a grand slam to tie a game this year against the Minnesota Twins and then hit a walk-off grand slam to beat the Chicago White Sox as well.
There are other instances of his brilliance in big spots, but you get the picture.
The 27-year-old is hitting .217 this season with 26 homers and 76 RBI. He leads the M's in homers, RBI and OPS this season, having been the team's most consistent offensive performer.
Seattle enters play on Tuesday at 63-57 through 120 games. They trail the red-hot Houston Astros by 1.5 games in the American League West and trail the Kansas City Royals by 2.0 games in the American League wild card race.
They'll play the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday afternoon at 3:40 p.m. PT.
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