TORONTO -- Cal Raleigh couldn’t publicly say it at the time during All-Star Media Day in Atlanta.
But as the Mariners’ catcher embraced Eugenio Suárez a few hours before his Home Run Derby triumph -- Raleigh wearing his navy away jersey reading “Seattle” across the front, and Suárez donning a home white D-backs uniform -- the Mariners’ catcher echoed a message to his former teammate that now, three months later, carries a sense of the surreal.
“We’ve got your old locker ready for you,” Raleigh told Suárez on that steamy afternoon in Georgia.
Suárez’s return has offered so many full-circle moments in this magical Mariners season, beginning with the surprise plane ride home hours after the blockbuster Trade Deadline deal was agreed to -- and culminating with his eighth-inning grand slam on Friday.
Maybe there’s even more to come.
Suárez’s big blast came just moments after Raleigh tied the game with his own sky-high shot, capping a five-spot that both stunned the Blue Jays and pushed the Mariners to the cusp of advancing in this American League Championship Series.
That Seattle eked out an improbable victory amidst the most stressful of October stakes was poetic enough on its own, especially in front of its starved home crowd. But doing so via the two players who’ve resonated arguably more than any in the Puget Sound region was a script worthy of Hollywood.
“This game is beautiful, and it's hard at the same time,” Suárez said. “You’ve just got to keep going. You’ve just got to work hard, never quit, never doubt yourself, and not put too much pressure. Because when you try too hard, that’s when you are not going to have good results. Me especially, I'm the guy who just believes in what I can do, and I put everything on the field, and I expect to have good results every time.”
Which ties back to the reunion between Raleigh and Suárez in Atlanta.
That exchange was just 16 days before Mariners general manager Justin Hollander orchestrated the trade that could be among the franchise’s most defining, to bring the fan-favorite Suárez back to Seattle.
Everyone in Atlanta knew that it was a possibility, given the Mariners’ need for both an offensive boost and a clear avenue to upgrade that void at third base.
That, and behind the scenes, the club was prepared to be among the sport’s boldest teams at the Deadline, with Raleigh in the midst of a historic season, a division there for the taking and a farm system loaded with prospects to deal from to acquire the right players to put them over the top.
But at that time, too, Suárez’s market was also among the Deadline’s most competitive, as he was arguably the most coveted bat available, with his 31 homers through the first half ranking fourth most in MLB. And there was an emotional pull as well, given that trading Suárez to Arizona in a 2023-24 offseason that was defined by payroll constraints had still haunted Hollander and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.
“One of my least favorite trades we ever did,” Dipoto said back in July. “I love Geno. We all do. He was a pivotal player for us for two years, and a better person -- a leader. And he was on a contract that was pretty affordable for what he did. But you make decisions based on where you are. And if we could have called and asked for a redo after the Winter Meetings ... that would have been great, but that's not how it works.”
As for the empty locker that awaited Suárez upon his return, Raleigh wasn’t lying about how it sat empty.
That space is the first upon entering the home clubhouse at T-Mobile Park, perhaps fitting that Suárez has always been the most outgoing player when this has been his home environment. Everyone he crosses paths with is treated with the same boisterous energy -- with a wink, fist pump, pat on the back and that trademark smile -- whether it’s a teammate, clubbie, coach or even media member.
Which has pushed Suárez’s return to storybook level.
No moment encapsulated that more than when he sat at the postgame podium on Friday on the verge of tears, alongside his daughters, Nicolle and Melanie. Both girls also sat on his lap in 2022, also in the playoffs and also against these Blue Jays, when the Mariners advanced in the AL Wild Card Series.
Was this the most emotional that the 34-year-old has ever been on a baseball field?
“To be honest, I want to say yes,” Suárez said. “I’ve had a good amount of beautiful moments in my career, but today is something else. To hit that grand slam and help my team win games in the postseason, a big game here in front of our fans. They have been waiting for a long time, and myself, too. I've been waiting for this moment my whole career.”
Speaking of 2022: Back then, Raleigh was in his first full season and far from blossoming into the clubhouse spokesman he is today. That leadership mantle was held by Suárez, who arrived in a Spring Training trade with Cincinnati and made an immediate impact -- for his plus defense, power bat, and more than anything, his “Good Vibes Only” mantra that defined that season.
There’s something intangible about Suárez’s personality that reverberates, so much so that his saying is plastered in neon lights in the clubhouse tunnel leading from the locker room to the dugout. That fixture was installed before the 2023 season, when the Mariners were preparing to host that year’s All-Star Game, and it’s adorned alongside the defining motto from each of the Mariners’ previous playoff seasons.
There’s “Sodo Mojo” for 1995, “Refuse To Lose” for 2001 -- and “Seize The Moment,” which was just added to the players’ area, after the club clinched the AL West in 2025.
“Good Vibes Only,” however, might be the most player-specific.
Suárez repeated those three words throughout his introductory press conference at the Peoria Sports Complex in Arizona the day after the '22 trade. And they spread like wildfire, compounded by a season that was special in itself, as the Mariners snapped the longest active playoff drought in North American professional sports.
This 2025 run, however, is quite literally like something that Seattle has never seen, as the Mariners are MLB’s lone team that has never reached the World Series but are now one win away.
And they reached this precipice in Game 5 on the shoulders of Suárez, who is right back where he’s always belonged.