PEORIA, Ariz. -- The despondent demeanor was impossible for Cal Raleigh to hide.
The Mariners’ catcher was being interviewed on camera moments after learning that he finished runner-up for the American League MVP Award during the All-MLB Awards ceremony in Las Vegas. He was cordial and congratulatory, but didn’t say much.
Three months later, he offered more reflection on being second place in one of the closest MVP votes since 2019, one that saw Aaron Judge earn 17 of the 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to Raleigh’s 13.
“You want to win, so obviously disappointed,” Raleigh said. “But he's a great player. And he's doing some things that are very unheard of, and congratulations to him. But yeah, I mean, I think you come close, you always have that disappointment or feeling of, ‘What could I have done better?’”
To his hypothetical, it’s hard to imagine what else.
Raleigh crushed 60 homers, a record for a catcher and switch-hitter but also a mark two shy of Judge’s AL record of 62 set in 2022, when he won his first of three AL MVPs. Raleigh also led the Mariners to their first AL West title since 2001, won the Home Run Derby and played the sport’s most demanding position.
He was arguably the sport’s biggest storyline.
And his candidacy against Judge -- who led MLB in all slash line categories with a gaudy clip of .331/.457/.688 (1.144 OPS) -- became the sport’s hottest debate leading into the playoffs.
“It was pretty much in front of your face the whole time,” Raleigh said. “I'd be warming up in the clubhouse, MLB Network is on, and that was something they talked about a lot. But I think it just goes back to focusing on the right things, and kind of what got me from that spot. I think you just keep repeating what makes you successful and what makes you a good player, and what makes you do the right things each day, and you don't fall into that trap -- don't drink the Kool Aid.”
There was a three-week gap between the Mariners’ heartbreak in the AL Championship Series and the MVP announcement, enough time to absorb the sting but also begin moving on -- but also for the debate to resurface.
“You hear things. I am human,” Raleigh said. “You go on your phone and people say stuff -- text messages or people calling you, whatever. Some people send you something on social media. Like, it is what it is. You just take it for what it is. But I'm trying to do something bigger, which is the World Series.”
A title-driven mindset has always been at the forefront for Raleigh, and especially as the individual accolades piled up in 2025. It’s reinvigorated him this spring, one where he’ll again reach the spotlight -- this time as the starting catcher for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, where he’ll be teammates with Judge.
The two connected occasionally during the offseason -- first with Raleigh congratulating Judge directly, and again when Judge was visiting Arizona while Raleigh was here for a spell during the thick of winter. There are no hard feelings -- that’s not how Raleigh is wired -- but quite the contrary.
Raleigh wants to follow-up a conversation that began at last year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, but in-person -- one centered on leadership.
“The first thing anybody ever wants to ask Aaron Judge is, ‘teach me how to hit’ or ‘tell me about my swing,’” Raleigh said. “I know who I am now. Obviously, you always try to gain as much information, but you look at a guy who's in a big city who has a lot of pressure on him to win baseball games leading an organization that's pretty well known.
“I want to know what other leaders do. I want to be able to pick their brain. I always want to try to gain as much information as I can, try to process that and try to just add that to my game.”
Raleigh will depart for the Classic around the end of February and be away from the Mariners for potentially a few weeks, with pool play beginning on March 4 and the title game on March 17. Beyond the spotlight, it’ll present a playoff-like feel -- and perhaps more so, an experience that Raleigh can build on from last year’s postseason and springboard towards another in 2026.