Cal Raleigh was AL MVP runner-up in 2025, and the Seattle Mariners were one game away from the World Series. Things have changed drastically in just one year.
The Seattle Mariners suffered another disappointing loss against the New York Yankees on Wednesday night. This pushed the team to nine games below .500 for the season, a terrible record.
As things stand, the Mariners are facing an uphill battle to make it to the postseason this year. And with confidence quickly dissipating, the playoff outlook is bleak.
Cal Raleigh had a historic season in 2025, but he has struggled to replicate that greatness in 2026. And it appears that no one knows this better than the man himself.
Photo by Tim Warner/Getty ImagesCal Raleigh accepts Seattle Mariners are playing ‘very very bad baseball’, takes responsibilityKnown as the Big Dumper, Raleigh was the MLB home run leader in 2025. This season, all the Mariners’ bats seem cold, having failed the pitching time and again.
The numbers tell the whole story. Raleigh’s hit just 12 home runs so far this season, he had 60 last year. His batting average, RBIs, OBP, and SLG are all down significantly too. He recently addressed this.
“We’re not playing well. That starts with me. I’m awful,” Raleigh said after the team’s recent loss against the Yankees.
“I’ve got to find a way to be better and to help bring the guys along. We just gotta play better. We’re just playing very, very, very bad baseball in every facet of the game.”
The 29-year-old isn’t mincing his words about the current state of affairs in terms of his and his team’s form. Acknowledging the issue is only half the battle, though, and things need to turn around quickly if the Mariners want to achieve anything this season.
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