Cal Raleigh is having an amazing season for the Seattle Mariners. That continued Monday with his win in the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby.
Raleigh became the first catcher to win the event, which showcases batters in a “who-can-hit-the-most-homers” contest. He came into the game with 38 homers, one short of Barry Bonds’ record for most blasts before the All-Star break.
A video surfaced last week where Raleigh predicted 20 years ago he would win the event. “I’m the home run derby champ,” Raleigh said in the video. True to his word, he did it. “The video is crazy,” Raleigh said after the derby.
His father, Todd, pitched to him during the derby and also took the video.
“I mean, I don’t know where they found that thing in the archives,” Raleigh said. “Yeah, just kind of surreal. You don’t think you’re going to win it. You don’t think you’ll ever get invited. Then you get invited. The fact that you win it with your family, super special. Just what a night.”
Cal Raleigh video (MLB.com photo)
So what’s the ECU connection? Thanks to WCTI’s Brian North, he found just what that connection was. Raleigh’s father was an assistant coach with then-ECU coach Keith LeClair in 1999. Cal was 3 at the time.
North said in his Facebook post, “I got to know Todd when he was an assistant at James Madison University from 1996-99. It’s a small world that always seems to have a connection with ENC.”
Photo credit: Cal Raleigh (AP photo)
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