Commentary: Cal Raleigh for MVP? Mariners catcher is playing like one right now

SEATTLE – You can’t leave your seat when Cal Raleigh is at the plate anymore. Not when every swing could make the ball leave the yard – not when every cut could leave the fans amazed.

What the Mariners catcher is doing has gone beyond a mere hot streak. He isn’t simply “locked in” or “in the zone” or “firing on all cylinders.” No, what the Mariners catcher is doing is having one of the best seasons in club history.

Look out to left-center field at T-Mobile Park and gaze at the retired numbers of Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. Imagine Ichiro and Randy Johnson joining those two while you’re at it. Then, understand that, at this pace, Raleigh could match anything any of those Mariners Mount Rushmore members did in one given season. Yes, it’s that dominant.

In the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday, Raleigh socked a first-pitch breaking ball off Twins pitcher Chris Paddack over the right-field wall, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead. The homer would prove pivotal in the Mariners’ 2-1 win, which ended with Randy Arozarena singling home Julio Rodríguez with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

It was Raleigh’s third consecutive game with a long ball (he hit two in Friday’s loss to the Twins) and his sixth over the past six games. Tough to agree with the “M-V-P” chants emanating from the T-Mobile Park crowd given the historic season Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is having – but does anybody mean more to their team right now than Cal? I’m not sure.

Judge may be MLB’s Secretariat, but given the Bronx Bombers’ plus-98 run differential, there’s a decent chance they’d still be in first place in their division without him. But the Mariners (32-26) and their plus-8 run differential? They’ve needed every contribution from their catcher to manage that half-game lead they have over Houston in the American League West.

They’ve needed all of Cal’s MLB-leading 23 home runs – which has him on pace for 64. They’ve needed that OPS of 1.016 – the fourth-best in baseball. They’ve needed that Wins Above Replacement mark of 3.7 – second behind Judge entering Sunday – which has him on pace for 10.3. The best WAR ever for a Mariner? That would be Alex Rodriguez (10.4) in 2000, followed by Griffey (9.7) in 1996. Matching them isn’t out of the question.

“He’s having an excellent season, not only offensively but defensively,” Arozarena said through an interpreter. “What he’s doing right now is great, because he’s carrying our offense pretty much.”

Had the Mariners lost Sunday, that would have been their sixth defeat in the past eight games. Raleigh’s dinger and him throwing out Kody Clemens at second base in the fourth helped prevent that. Just as Raleigh hitting a two-run bomb helped propel the Mariners to a 5-4 win over Minnesota on Saturday, too.

For the moment, he has entered the Judge/Shohei Ohtani phase where each at-bat is a must-see event. When’s the last time someone playing for the M’s was that magnetic?

Of course, Raleigh isn’t going to say much about his own accomplishments. He was much more interested in talking about Rodríguez and Arozarena in his postgame interview with ROOT Sports.

Asked if he counted on lifting the home run trident as part of his daily workout, Raleigh simply said, “No, just go out every day.”

But those sharing the dugout with him will sing his praises.

“Cal’s a tremendous player, and it’s great to be part of the group that is watching him do what he’s doing,” Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo said through an interpreter. “(I) just wish he continues to stay healthy and have a very long career, because it’s a lot of fun right now.”

Added M’s manager Dan Wilson: “He’s a real special player. He’s doing it all right now.”

Raleigh was the most productive Mariner in terms of WAR last year, but it seemed as if Julio was still the face of the franchise. I’m not sure that’s the case anymore.

The cheers Cal gets every time he steps up to the plate? The impact he’s making between the lines? The blend of consistency and heroics?

It’s at a superstar level.

You can’t leave your seat when he’s up these days. It will leave you kicking yourself for what you missed.