Cal Raleigh’s hot start, and can he sustain it while playing every day
SEATTLE – Six hours before hitting his latest home run – maybe his most majestic of the season to date – and catching his 40th game, Cal Raleigh stood in left field of Daikin Park in Houston with an intent listener at his side.
Rookie pitcher Logan Evans is a sponge at this point of his young career, soaking up every experience, every bit of guidance he receives. And on this afternoon, his catcher and team leader wanted to talk.
About pitching. About the game. About how to be a pro.
“Cal is like the leader of this team. I think a lot of people know that,” Evans said. “He has the accolades and all the stuff to kind of back up on why he is, but I don’t think he uses that. I don’t think he goes around saying, like, ‘This is right because I’m a platinum glover.’ I think people just respect that about him and know that he shows up each and every day, working as hard as he can.”
That last line Evans noted is really where this story starts, because what Raleigh has done already this season is extremely rare for someone playing the most grueling position in baseball.
The M’s are nearly a third of the way through the season. They are 29-23 with a narrow lead in the AL West. And of those 52 games played so far, Raleigh has yet to go an afternoon or evening at the ballpark without a full day off.
Fifty-two games played. Fifty-one times in the starting lineup. His one day off in Sacramento earlier this month, Raleigh delivered the game-winning hit in the ninth inning.
That durability and determination is a rarity in baseball among catchers. Over the past 30 years, Raleigh is one of five players whose primary position is catcher and has appeared in the first 52 games of a season without a day off.
The four others were William Contreras with the Brewers (2024); Adley Rutschman with the Orioles (2023); Salvador Perez with Kansas City (2021); and Russell Martin with the Dodgers (2008).
Not all those days are spent behind the plate. Raleigh, Contreras, Perez and Rutschman all received the benefit of days as a designated hitter to lessen the strain. But it’s still a toll to play the most physically demanding position on the field and never take a full day off.
It’s one thing to always be available. It’s another to be available and match Raleigh’s production through 52 games: 17 homers, 35 RBI, .948 OPS, 171 wRC+. That equals 53 homers and 109 RBI if this pace continues.
Entering Monday’s games, Raleigh ranked second in the American League with a 3.0 WAR per FanGraphs, trailing only Aaron Judge. He’s on track for the best fWAR season by an American League catcher since Joe Mauer posted an 8.3 fWAR in 2009. He was the AL MVP that season.
It’s impressive and imperative if the M’s want to stay atop the AL West that Raleigh remains a fixture on the lineup card.
“I don’t ask for days off. I expect to be lined up every day, and if they don’t decide to play me that day, then obviously that’s their choice. It’s not mine,” Raleigh said. “I’m available every single day. Just try to stay ready to go for my teammates.”
Ready for 162
If being in the lineup every day is Raleigh’s baseline expectation, then getting ready to accomplish that goal starts in November.
Raleigh’s adamant about taking time off after the season to rest. Usually it’s about a month with minimal activity after the grind of seven or eight months of baseball including spring training.
Then it’s a progression in starting to build the foundation for the following season. It starts in the weight room and with physical conditioning. Then throwing gets added. Swinging a bat is the last thing.
And while that’s an offseason plan, it continues into spring training.
“You do things that you don’t want to do, but you have to do in order to be ready for the season,” Raleigh said. “Nobody wants to be out there doing catcher drills, or conditioning or lifting after spring training games, but you do it because you know that’s what’s best for you, your body and what’s going to keep you healthy, and help you finish those games and stay strong in the long run.”
Once the regular season arrives, Raleigh makes it a point of getting into the weight room at least once and sometimes twice per series. It’s maintaining the foundation from the offseason while also being aware when he might need to pull back a little bit.
He’s also adamant about getting into the weight room on a getaway day or after the last game of a series. They’re often day games with quick turnaround and usually includes arm care. But lifting on those days is an absolute.
“Those are tough, just because you just played a three-, four-game series. You played in all those games, you didn’t get a lot of rest the night before because you had to get up early and play a day game and you’re about to go travel or wherever it may be. You just want to go home and relax,” Raleigh said. “But there’s still work to get done with your body and staying on top of things in the sense of, I got to stay strong, I got to stay healthy. I got to look toward to the next series or the next day.”
Finding breaks
Manager Dan Wilson knows Raleigh has to be in the lineup. The only day he didn’t start this season, it was inevitable Raleigh ended up in the game.
That’s why days in the designated hitter role have become so important to sprinkle in. His bat remains in the lineup – although Raleigh’s numbers are lower on his DH days – without the strain of catching.
“I think the idea is try to get him the DH days, which do help at least from the mental grind standpoint and a physical grind standpoint from getting away from behind the plate,” Wilson said. “But we just talked about it so much, just what he does, and calling the game what he does, and the physical demands. He seems like he gets three or four foul tips every single night back there. And then what he does offensively and to be able to do it as much as he does is remarkable.”
Wilson also made a point that perhaps stems from his own playing experience. Sometimes taking a day off makes you feel worse because now the rhythm is off. It’s similar Raleigh mentioned when it comes to working out during the season. That little bit of soreness from lifting can be a good thing.
“I think the key is just not letting that fatigue kind of settle in and that’s what we’re hoping to avoid as we get into the second half, and hoping that we can keep him as fresh as possible,” Wilson said. “Because we see what he can do and it’s impressive.”
It’s never been Raleigh’s goal to play all 162 games, even if his prep before the season and maintenance during the year is with that in mind. The idea is frankly preposterous considering his position.
But that resolve to try and be in there every day and the work that goes into making that happen at the toughest position gets noticed by those around him.
“If he’s not taking an off day, nobody else feels like they can complain, especially at that position,” pitcher Logan Gilbert said. “Productivity, everybody knows what he can do, but I mean just showing his toughness and being in the lineup says a lot, too, about standards here.”