Raleigh dumps first spring HR (427 ft) as he ramps up for World Baseball Classic

PEORIA, Ariz. -- This was a big one, even by the standards of “Big Dumper.”

Cal Raleigh crushed his first homer of the Cactus League season on Tuesday afternoon, pummeling a first-pitch changeup from White Sox reliever Wikelman González and sending it to the left of straightaway center field on a balmy day at Peoria Stadium.

The two-run blast tied the game at 3-3, traveled 427 feet, left his bat at 107.4 mph and hung for a lengthy 6.1 seconds.

Raleigh, who will depart soon to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, had been in an 0-for-6 start to spring, with three strikeouts and two walks. As such, this stage of camp has featured more volume for the catcher who’s had as high of a workload as anyone at his position over the past several seasons.

“It's a combination of being smart and also getting your reps,” Raleigh said of the higher-than-usual workload this spring. “So we're going to have a little four- or five-day period where we have some reps and practice and games with Team USA. But most of that is going to come from each guy and their team.”

Raleigh was among the first players to commit to Team USA for the Classic, last July during All-Star Week in Atlanta. He is one of just two catchers on the roster, along with the Dodgers’ Will Smith. And he’s expected to depart by the end of the month.

“It's going to be more about who's hot at the time,” Raleigh said, “because you don't have a whole season. You have a couple pool games, and when you get there, you don't have a whole lot of time to work on stuff. So it's going to be about who's ready to go and who's got the hot hand.”

Raleigh had already been taking more at-bats than most during live batting practice on Peoria’s back fields, including must-watch showdowns vs. Seattle’s top pitching prospects, Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan. But he’s also trying to play in as many Cactus games for live action -- and not just in the batter’s box.

“To me, it always starts with building up your legs,” Raleigh said. “You’ve got to start behind the plate. You need to get back there.”

The Classic will be another prominent stage for Raleigh’s emerging spotlight to shine.

“I think they've done a really good job of getting a lot of people involved,” Raleigh said. “And obviously, it's a global event, so it's going to be great for the game, and there's going to be lots of fun matchups.”

Tuesday’s blast was likely the first of many for Raleigh in a 2026 season that could be defined by the curtain call he looks to orchestrate after a historic ‘25. Last year, Raleigh crushed 60 homers to set a record for catchers and switch-hitters, and he came two shy of tying the American League highmark set by Aaron Judge in 2022.

He also won the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, and when accounting for his five Cactus homers and five in the postseason, he finished with 70 overall.

Raleigh then finished runner-up to Judge for the AL MVP in the award’s closest vote since 2019.

That said, team-wide goals have always been at his forefront, and that’s especially true this spring after the Mariners were eliminated in Game 7 of last year’s AL Championship Series.

“It was a great year, and you look back on it, and you're very appreciative of everything that happened,” Raleigh said. “It was a lot of crazy, a lot of different things going on, but you take it for what it's worth. And you look back, you enjoy it, but knowing that this year is going to be a different year, new challenges.”

It’s not just Raleigh who’s eager for Seattle’s upcoming season. Fans have flocked to Arizona in record waves this spring, with the Mariners setting a single-game attendance record since moving to Peoria for their Cactus opener on Saturday.

“People are excited,” Raleigh said. “They want a winner. Seattle fans, they love their sports teams there, especially when they're doing well. So they're a great crowd to play in front of. And we're just trying to give them more of that and something that we think they deserve.”