It’s the dream of every kid who picks up a baseball bat. The score is tied, 1-1. It’s the bottom of the ninth inning. With one swing, you have the chance to make history. That’s the situation Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh found himself in on 30 September 2022. His manager called him up to bat with the game on the line. If his team won, they’d end a 20-year playoff drought. So, what did Raleigh do? He smacked a full-count, pinch-hit, walk-off dinger deep to right field. Cue: the victory music.
After he rounded the bases, Raleigh’s teammates swarmed him, lifted him on to their shoulders and crowned him with a plastic bubblegum bucket. The Pacific Northwest had new baseball royalty and it was about time. For a franchise that had long been promised the next great prospect – from Justin Smoak to Dustin Ackley – it seemed as if the 26-year-old Raleigh was delivering in real-time. No one wanted to jinx it, but many in Seattle crossed their fingers and toes.
