Cal Raleigh has ‘faith in this group’ and is confident scuffling Mariners can turn season around
SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners switch-hitting catcher Cal Raleigh has used the same swing since he was 9 years old. Raleigh’s tried and true stroke worked out quite well for him during the 2025 season, one in which he finished runner-up for American League MVP honors and set the single-season record for home runs by a catcher with 60. The 29-year-old’s magnificent season helped the Mariners come within one win of their first World Series berth, and set sky-high expectations heading into 2026.
“I know the swing is good,” Raleigh said. “Really just trying to trust the approach, trust the plan, commit to it every single pitch. ” Like many of his Mariners teammates, though, Raleigh hasn’t hit as well as he would like amid Seattle’s 10-15 start, which includes the most recent 5-2 loss to the Athletics.
Even with a solo home run and a single in the Mariners’ latest defeat, Raleigh just is hitting . 177 with a . 538 OPS, his lowest since his rookie season.
Twenty-five games into the 2026 season, the Mariners find themselves in fourth place in the AL West, slotted ahead of only the bottom-feeding Houston Astros, who are tied for the most losses in major league baseball at 9-16. First baseman Josh Naylor, who broke out of his slump last week with two home runs, still has a batting average below the Mendoza line. Julio Rodríguez has heated up considerably the last few weeks, but isn’t hitting for power in a fashion that the Mariners have grown accustomed to.
Seattle has 23 home runs as a team, good for 15th in the majors, yet only two teams have lower collective batting averages than their . 218. The Mariners have taken their walks, but they aren’t driving runners in with clutch hits or home runs.