A Grip on Sports: There are a few things I never believed would happen, such as the M’s catcher starting the All-Star Game, but even long-held beliefs can change

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s nearly time for the hot dog, apple pie and Chevrolet of holidays. Blooms in the sky. Flags on the porch. Wearing a powdered wig to a party. The Fourth. It’s the day we celebrate the invention of baseball, right?

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• No? It’s about what now? Independence and King George and all that? Wow. You learn something new every day. I always thought it was the day set aside to observe that one day oh so long ago in Cooperstown, N.Y., when Abner Doubleday turned the first double play – hence the term. Have I been wrong about all that?

Next you’ll tell me some falsehood like “Clayton Kershaw is the greatest pitcher in Dodger history” or “The Mariners’ catcher is starting the All-Star Game.”

Not falling for it. Not today. Or tomorrow. Not ever.

Wait? It’s all true?

Give me a minute, will you? I have to process this.

You mean to tell me the franchise that has rolled out folks like Rob Johnson, Chris Ianetta and Miguel Olivo – just to mention a few this century – on a nightly basis to catch such luminaries as Felix Hernandez, Jamie Moyer and The Big Maple actually has the best catcher in the American League? Let me check this out.

Well, I’ll be darned. It’s true. And Cal Raleigh isn’t just the American League’s best catcher. He’s also MLB’s best. And the M’s, of course. Sorry Dan. It was a long run Mr. Wilson. But the guy you pencil in the lineup card almost every night has surpassed you in the franchise’s history books.

Do you know only one catcher in Mariner history has accumulated more WAR (wins against replacement) in an entire season than Raleigh has in 2025. He’s at 4.6 as we prepare to celebrate John Hancock’s signature.

The record-holder? That also would be Raleigh. Last year. When he had 4.7. Heck, he’s the only M’s catcher to ever accumulate more than 4.0 in a season, with just Wilson (3.8 in 1997) even getting within spit-take distance of that number. If Raleigh can continue his offensive assault for another 76 games, he has a chance to eclipse Alex Rodriguez’s 2000 single-season franchise mark for offensive WAR (8.9). The American League’s starting all-star catcher – I just wanted to type that again – has 5.2 after taking last night off.

What makes his exploits even more remarkable is the franchise’s checkered history with the position. It’s not leftfield-bad but it hasn’t been great. From Bob “Scrap Iron” Stinson (fixed from earlier), the franchise’s first, to Tom Murphy, the guy Raleigh replaced, only Dave Valle, Wilson, Kenji Johima and, in some ways, Mike Zunino, truly excelled at the position. In almost 50 years.

Instead M’s fans have been treated to such luminaries as Rick Sweet, Bob Kearney and my personal bête noire, the aforementioned Rob Johnson.

Johnson was such a poor receiver there were times, watching at home as he struggled to catch Felix’s wide variety of pitches, I silently implored then-manager Don Wakamatsu to replace Johnson with a cardboard cutout. At least there was a chance the cutout would get in the way of Felix’s changeup and not allow it to get to the backstop.

My most vivid memory of that time? Johnson’s back, as he chased after said pitch as another unearned run scampered home.

Wakamatsu didn’t listen. Maybe that was why he was canned before the awful 2010 season ended. This season? It may not end up as successful as fans wish, but it is not awful. Thanks to Raleigh.

• Back when Stinson was wearing Mariners’ gear I felt there was not chance anyone would ever surpass Sandy Koufax as the Dodgers’ greatest pitcher. Then along came Kershaw. The lefthander has been a star, all and super, for most of his 18-year career. And his numbers tell us he’s the best pitcher the franchise built upon great pitching has ever seen.

I was a youngster during Koufax’s magical four-year, mid-1960s stretch. When he was 97-27. Never posted an ERA above 2.04. Accumulated 36.4 WAR. It was a stretch of unsurpassed excellence in a pitcher-friendly time.

But for a career? Kershaw, who collected his 3,000 strikeout Wednesday night, has been better. Longer. A better ERA. Better winning percentage. Better in just about every category. Blasphemy? Ten-year-old me would have said yes. Would have called it “presentism” if the word had been around. But 68-year-old me? Nope.

More dominating in a short stretch? Maybe not. A better postseason performer? No. But a better overall career? Yep.

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WSU: Around the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we know a lot of mainly get your sports fix through TV. That’s why we want to link this second installment of The Athletic’s media mailbag. … Jon Wilner explains why the Big 12 dropped its football media poll in this Mercury News column. … Oregon’s not stopping its recruiting, even if a player seems off the board. … Utah is still celebrating its recent recruiting coup. … Colorado State is looking forward to its football schedule. … What do the new rules coming from the House settlement mean to any state’s coffers? We’ll see. … In basketball news, Colorado may have to change its recruiting tactics. … Arizona’s key recruit is having a great FIBA U19 tournament.

Gonzaga: Our memories of Steele Venters date back to his high school days. Early high school days. And his time at Eastern Washington. The last couple years, though, Venters has been at Gonzaga, watching mostly, as he lost two seasons to leg injuries. But now he’s back working on his game, finally cleared by doctors to return to basketball activities. Theo Lawson has more in this smile-inducing story. … John Andrzejek was an easy guy to like when he was on Kyle Smith’s staff at Washington State. Now, after a stint at Florida, he’s the head coach at Campbell University, the North Carolina school that is the latest home addition to the Zags’ nonconference schedule. Theo has all the details in this story.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, as we’ve said before, recruiting never stops. Not at Montana. … Northern Colorado has a new wrestling coach. … Northern Arizona has a new athletic director. Though he’s not new to the school. And the title is a little more impressive.

Indians: Spokane lost two good hitters recently, as the Rockies decided to promote Charlie Condon and Jared Thomas. But then Colorado promoted Blake Wright to Spokane and he’s helped pick up the slack. He had another big game last night in Pasco, as Dave Nichols explains in this game story following the Indians’ 10-8 win.

Velocity: Spokane faced Texoma FC last night at ONE Spokane Stadium. The Velocity scored early, gave up a late goal and finished in a draw. John Allison has the coverage.

Zephyr: The roster for the team’s second season is taking shape and will include a former BYU All-American, Cameron Tucker. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column.

Mariners: Yes, we linked the Raleigh All-Star news above (and do it again here) but the more crucial story is, with Raleigh getting a rare night off, Seattle found a way to get past Kansas City 3-2. The heroes? The red-hot Randy Arozarena and the recently cool Andrés Muñoz. … Emerson Hancock has also cooled down. Now he’s been sent down. … Is there any chance of a pre-deadline deal? … Wondering about the All-Star starters? There are a bunch of new names.

Sonics: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a new mega-deal. The highest yearly payout we’ve seen. In any sport in this country.

Storm: There are few WNBA players ever who have had a more productive career than Nneka Ogwumike. Or more all-star appearances.

Kraken: We linked this Mike Vorel column when it ran in the Times. We link it again today on the S-R site.

Sounders: After all the teeth-grinding and garment ripping, the USMNT team is the Gold Cup final once again. And will face Mexico again. For the eighth time. The U.S. got there with a 2-1 win over Guatemala. Mexico earned its spot with a 1-0 decision over Honduras. … The USWNT is hitting its stride, even with a lot of new faces. The team defeated Canada 3-0 in a friendly last night.

Auto racing: Anyone see “F1?” The Brad Pitt movie? I’m interested but haven’t made it to the theater yet. Should I? And will it give Formula One a boost such as “Days of Thunder” did NASCAR?

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• No column tomorrow. And there’s a chance there won’t be a column Sunday, though the prospect of one is brighter today than yesterday. I double-checked some things and found I had misread a schedule. A mistake? In this space? Well, yes. It happens occasionally. We try to always fix them. And speaking of mistakes, please be careful tomorrow. And, if you live in Spokane, remember fireworks are illegal. My dog Donut would appreciate it. As would all our local firefighters, who have been under too much stress lately. Until later …