The pitch was a low dart, zipping angrily toward the very bottom of the strike zone at 98.3 mph. It was 20 inches off the ground when it arrived. Cal Raleigh had never hit a home run off a fastball that low in his five major league seasons.
Raleigh swung. He knew just what to do, thanks to a man sitting 20 rows behind the plate at T-Mobile Park on this September evening. Todd Raleigh, his dad, was wearing a Mariners cap and, like everybody else in the ballpark, was on his feet on the chance baseball history was about to happen. Cal’s mother, Stephanie, stood next to Todd. Their son was sitting on 59 home runs.
