Seattle Mariners Manager Dan Wilson Comments on Catcher Cal Raleigh's Amazing Season
SEATTLE — There isn't an exact one-to-one comparison for a quarterback in the game of baseball.
The quarterback is arguably the most valuable position in sports. And starting pitchers, center fielders and shortstops usually get all the praise when talking about positions with the most value in baseball.
But if there's one position that is the "quarterback of baseball," it would be catcher. And the Seattle Mariners have one of the best catchers in the game in Cal Raleigh.
Raleigh has had a history-making season both behind and at the plate. He set the franchise single-season record for most RBIs by a catcher, passing his current manager and Seattle Hall of Famer Dan Wilson. He's in the middle of his second-straight 30-home run season. He leads the American League in runners caught stealing and defensive runs saved. And he's behind only Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Piazza for the most home runs by a catcher through their first four seasons in MLB history.
Cal Raleigh is the 12th catcher in MLB history with multiple 30+ HR seasons. pic.twitter.com/U9B7SqGnRM
— MLB (@MLB) September 11, 2024
Wilson has known Raleigh since he was a prospect in the Mariners' farm system and has helped coach him throughout several stages of his professional career.
Now, as his manager, Wilson had some high praise for the Gold Glove candidate before Seattle's 5-2 win on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres.
"(Raleigh) has really turned himself into a great major league catcher," Wilson said Wednesday. "It's hard to look (30 home runs) and understand what goes on defensively and all the responsibility that gets put on a catcher. And to go out and be able to hit 30 home runs, it's tough to do. And he's done it all season. He continues to get better and better on both sides of the ball, both offensively and defensively. But that kind of consistency of 30 home runs twice in a row, it's really impressive. And I think it speaks to the type of player he is, the type of person he is and just the work that he puts into this game."
Wilson, as a former catcher himself, has a unique perspective on just what exactly Raleigh has done to elevate himself to the position he is now. And one of them, like Wilson mentioned, is what he does on defense.
Raleigh has caught for what can be considered the best pitching staff in baseball all season. It's a balanced staff that includes six total All-Star selections (three from Luis Castillo and one apiece from George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Andres Munoz). It also includes two second-year starters that are having career seasons in Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo.
Despite Woo and Miller's solid seasons, both are still working to improve on their arsenal. Woo has commented about working on his secondary pitches to add to his devastating four-seam fastball and it looks to be paying off. Woo carried a perfect game bid into the seventh inning of Wednesday's win against the Padres and was 2.2 innings away from becoming just the second pitcher in Seattle history to reach perfection.
Bryan Woo's 3rd and 4th Ks thru 4. pic.twitter.com/PvNiz29ZgL
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 12, 2024
Wilson also commented on what exactly goes into catching for a staff that has such a balance of veteran arms and players still looking to progress as the season goes on.
"I think that's all part of it," Wilson said. "Understanding each guy, each guy individually. We talk about it a lot with the minor league catchers as well — understanding who your pitchers are, what buttons to press. Everybody has different buttons to press. So just understanding each guy as an individual and then sort of formulating your game plan through that. I think that's the way he has to approach ... the scenario of having different guys. And I think he's done a great job at that all season."
Raleigh has exceeded all expectations that even the Mariners' most optimistic of higher-ups might have had for him when drafting him in the third round back in 2018.
Raleigh likely has more good things in store with Seattle. And if the season can extend to October, even more people outside of the Pacific Northwest will see exactly what has made Raleigh so special.
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