Cal Raleigh named to first-ever All-Star Game
Raleigh joins his current skipper as the only Mariners catchers to be selected to an All-Star Game
It’s official: Cal Raleigh is a 2025 starting MLB All-Star.
While every team has at least one representative selected to the All-Star Game by MLB rule, starting the All-Star Game is a different honor. The Mariners haven’t had a starting All-Star since Nelson Cruz in 2015. To earn starting honors, Raleigh defeated the other finalist for the catcher position, Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk, by a margin of 72% - 28%, marking yet another time Cal Raleigh has handed Blue Jays fans a loss.
This is Raleigh’s first All-Star selection; last year the AL was represented by Adley Rutschman and Salvador Pérez as the back-up, both of whom were reserves in 2023 when Texas’s Jonah Heim earned starting honors. Kirk was the starter in 2022, with José Trevino as the reserve, in a year when Raleigh would end up with more fWAR than Trevino and come within .01 of Kirk en route to breaking the Mariners’ historic playoff drought.
It’s just another honor in what’s been a historic season for Raleigh, who is the first catcher and the first switch-hitter to hit 30+ homers before the All-Star Break in a season that’s seen him earn his first-ever Player of the Month honors.
“Just looking at some of the things he’s accomplished here in the first half and some of the names that are involved with some of the records he’s set, it’s pretty staggering,” said manager Dan Wilson, the only other Mariners catcher to ever be named to the All-Star Game. “We couldn’t be prouder to have him represent the Mariners.”
“Dan said a lot of nice words,” said the always-humble Raleigh about the team announcement. “All the guys were very happy, congratulating me. So it means a lot. You know, we’re together every day, and those are the guys you go to war with, so they mean a lot to me, and they were very excited.”
“I’m just blessed. It’s a dream come true,” said Raleigh, who said he’s excited to get into the locker room with the other All-Stars and “pick their brains.”
Cal, in the midst of his historic season, currently leads the majors in homers with 33. He has announced he’ll participate in the Home Run Derby, with his father (and first coach) Todd throwing to him, and younger brother Todd Jr.—a legitimate prospect in his own right as a 6’4” switch-hitting catcher like big brother—doing the catching.
“Very early on, we all recognized that this was a special player, a special person,” said Wilson. “It’s...you know, words are kind of hard, to quantify exactly what it feels like, but it really has been an impressive journey for Cal, and I think it’s really just getting started. There’s a lot more ahead of him.”
You’ll be able to watch Cal—and any other Mariners selected—on July 15th at Truist Park in Atlanta. The full All-Star rosters will be announced on Sunday, July 6 at 2 PT.