Biography
Caleb John Raleigh (born November 26, 1996), nicknamed "Big Dumper", is an American professional baseball catcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021. In 2024, Raleigh received his first Gold Glove Award and won the American League Platinum Glove Award, given to the best defensive player in the league.
Amateur career
Raleigh attended Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva, North Carolina. In his senior season, he hit .469 with 10 home runs and 20 stolen bases and was named an All-American by Louisville Slugger, MaxPreps, and Under Armour. He was named a conference player of the year in baseball and basketball. After originally committing to play for Clemson, Raleigh attended Florida State University (FSU), playing college baseball for the FSU Seminoles. In 2016, he started all but one game and hit .301 with a .412 on-base percentage and was named a freshman All-American by Baseball America, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Louisville Slugger, and Perfect Game. That summer, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, struggling to a .204 batting average. He had several dramatic hits in 2017, including driving in the winning run in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, driving in the tying run in the Super Regional final against Sam Houston State, and hitting a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of a College World Series game against the LSU Tigers. In 2018, his final year at FSU, he slashed .326/.447/.583 with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs in 62 games.
Professional career
Minor leagues (2018–2021)
Raleigh was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the third round, with the 90th overall pick, of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Mariners, receiving a $854,000 signing bonus. Raleigh made his professional debut that summer with the Low-A Everett AquaSox, batting .288 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 38 games. He started 2019 with the High-A Modesto Nuts, where he was named a California League All-Star before being promoted to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers in mid-July. In 121 games for the two clubs, Raleigh slashed .251/.323/.497 with 29 home runs and 82 RBIs.
Raleigh practiced and scrimmaged at the Mariners' alternate site in Tacoma in 2020 but did not play in a game because the minor league baseball season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Raleigh returned to Tacoma to start 2021 with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, hitting .324/.377/.608 with nine home runs in 44 games.
Seattle Mariners (2021–present)
On July 11, 2021, Raleigh was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that day, starting at catcher against the Los Angeles Angels, striking out twice in four hitless at bats. Raleigh recorded his first career hits and RBIs with a two-RBI double and single against Germán Márquez of the Colorado Rockies on July 20. On July 23, Raleigh hit his first MLB home run, a two-run, 444-foot blast off Oakland Athletics starter Frankie Montas. Splitting time at catcher with Tom Murphy, Raleigh finished the 2021 season with a .180/.223/.309 slash line, two home runs, 13 RBI, and 52 strikeouts in 47 games.
Raleigh started 2022 continuing to struggle to make contact, with an .083 batting average and striking out in 32 percent of his plate appearances in his first nine games. He was optioned down to Tacoma on April 28, returning to the Mariners on May 7 after Murphy suffered a dislocated shoulder. After another 10 games with a .091 average, Raleigh's bat blossomed, hitting .228 with an .854 on-base plus slugging and 24 home runs the rest of the season. On September 30, Raleigh hit a pinch-hit, walk-off home run against the Athletics to clinch the Mariners' first postseason appearance since 2001, ending the longest active playoff drought amongst the four major North American sports leagues. He would also have big hits in the postseason. In the Wild Card Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Raleigh hit a two-run home run off of Alek Manoah, an RBI single off of Anthony Bass, and scored the winning run in Game Two. His offense disappeared in the Division Series, as he went 1-for-14 in three consecutive losses to the Houston Astros. Raleigh finished the 2022 regular season with a .211/.284/.489 slash line, 20 doubles, one triple, and 63 RBI in 119 games. His 27 home runs led all MLB catchers and surpassed Mike Zunino for the most home runs by a Mariners catcher in a season. He was a finalist at catcher for the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, losing to Jose Trevino of the New York Yankees and Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays, respectively.
On May 15, 2023, Raleigh became the first catcher to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game at Fenway Park, hitting his home runs in consecutive plate appearances. In 145 games for Seattle in 2023, he batted .232/.306/.456 with 30 home runs and 75 RBI. When the Mariners were eliminated from postseason contention, Raleigh criticized the Mariners' lack of spending, saying "sometimes, you have to go out and you have to buy. That's just the name of the game." He was a Silver Slugger finalist again in 2023.
Raleigh broke a tooth after biting down on a sandwich on April 23, 2024. Despite severe pain, he hit a home run in that night's game against the Texas Rangers. He had oral surgery the following day, missing just one game before his return to catching. On June 10, Raleigh hit a walk-off grand slam off Jordan Leasure, capping off a 8–4 comeback win over the Chicago White Sox. Raleigh homered from both sides of the plate twice in July, on July 9 against the San Diego Padres, then two days later against the Angels. In the Mariners' final game of 2024, Raleigh hit his 34th home run of the season to reach 100 RBIs in a season for the first time in his career. It was his 93rd career home run, topping Mike Piazza for the most home runs in a catcher's first four MLB seasons. However, Raleigh hit 15 of his home runs as designated hitter or pinch hitter, while Piazza hit only one home run while not playing catcher in his first four seasons.
Raleigh hit .220/.312/.436 with 34 home runs, 100 RBI, and a career-high six stolen bases and 176 strikeouts in 2024. He won the Gold Glove and Platinum Glove awards in 2024, becoming the first Mariner in franchise history to receive the latter honor. He excelled at framing pitches. He was a Silver Slugger finalist for the third consecutive year.
On March 25, 2025, Raleigh and the Mariners agreed to a six-year, $105 million contract extension with a seventh-year $20 million vesting player option with a $2 million buyout. On April 11, Raleigh became the Mariners' franchise home run leader among catchers, hitting his 96th career home run in the bottom of the 8th inning against the Texas Rangers. On April 16, Raleigh recorded his 100th career home run, a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds. He became the fourth-fastest catcher (482 games) to reach 100 home runs, trailing only Gary Sánchez (355), Mike Piazza (422), and Rudy York (422). He finished April with 10 home runs, tied for the major league lead with Aaron Judge and former teammate Eugenio Suárez.
Personal life
Raleigh's parents are Stephanie and Todd Raleigh, and he has three siblings, Emma Grace, Carley, and Todd Jr. Many of his relatives also play baseball. His father coached college baseball for the Western Carolina Catamounts and Tennessee Volunteers and was a catcher for Western Carolina from 1988 to 1991. Raleigh's younger brother Todd Jr., nicknamed "T," is, like Cal, a switch-hitting catcher. Raleigh's uncle Matt was a minor league infielder from 1992 to 2000 after playing alongside Todd at Western Carolina. Raleigh's cousin and Matt's son, Brody, is an outfielder at Western Carolina. Raleigh said his great-grandmother, Doris, sends him encouraging text messages.
As a child, Raleigh rooted for Jason Varitek and the Boston Red Sox.
Raleigh's Big Dumper nickname, referring to his backside, was popularized by teammate Jarred Kelenic, who started using it in 2020 and tweeted it in 2021 when Raleigh was promoted to the Mariners. Raleigh's mother said she thinks the nickname stinks but appreciates fans' support for her son.
Raleigh completed his degree in business entrepreneurship from FSU in December 2020.
On June 13, 2024, Raleigh had his head shaved by former Mariner Jay Buhner as part of the team's "Buhner Buzz Cut" promotion.