ATLANTA \u2014 On Monday morning, Stephanie Raleigh was pleasantly surprised to find a fresh navy blue jersey laid out on her hotel bed, accompanied by a heartfelt note written in black ink across the bright white letters of the uniform.<\/p>\n
“Mom, I love you so much! Thank you for all the sacrifices!” \u2014 Cal Laurie, 29<\/p>\n
Later that day, Stephanie, mother of the Major League Baseball home run leader, basked in the spotlight of All-Star Week, centered around the 2025 Home Run Derby.<\/p>\n
The event turned into a full family affair. Todd, Cal\u2019s father and a former college coach with a stint as the University of Tennessee’s head coach, took on the role of Derby pitcher while their 15-year-old brother, Todd Jr., caught each round. Numerous other family members also sported jerseys like Stephanie\u2019s, all adorned with personal messages.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had it set up in his hotel room for us when we arrived,\u201d Stephanie told Yahoo Sports, reflecting on the joyful event. \u201cWe were definitely a little stunned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cal Raleigh’s electrifying performance at the Derby crowned a remarkable journey, transitioning from a third-round draft pick to a National Baseball standout. With an impressive 38 home runs in the first half of the season, many now view Loewry as one of the finest catchers in the sport. Over three seasons, he has evolved from a regular catcher to a genuine MVP contender.<\/p>\n
While Raleigh has long been popular in the Pacific Northwest, his game-winning home run that ended Seattle’s playoff drought has cemented his status as a Mariners legend. His spectacular 2025 season elevated him to a whole new level, perfectly exemplified by his dazzling Monday night on the Grand Stage.<\/p>\n
Laurie\u2019s remarkable display only reinforced his new reality as one of sports\u2019 most celebrated figures\u2014nicknames certainly boosting his fame.<\/p>\n
The night kicked off memorably when the professional broadcaster Pat McAfee introduced Raleigh with an enthusiastic shoutout: \u201cThere\u2019s the heavyweight of all professional sports\u2026 Big Damper Cal Lowry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raleigh blasted 17 towering home runs in the first round, narrowly advancing after a tiebreaker with track and field athlete Brent Luker. Despite some understandable frustration from Luker, Raleigh\u2019s performance remained stellar.<\/p>\n
In the semifinals, Raleigh went head-to-head with Pirates outfielder Onir Cruz, the only non-All-Star competitor, who smashed a staggering 513-foot home run\u2014the longest ever tracked, second only to those at Coors Field\u2019s high altitude. Cruz\u2019s overall athletic display was impressive, consistently firing deep shots that landed far beyond the stadium walls. Ultimately, Raleigh overcame Cruz, hitting 19 home runs to Cruz\u2019s 13.<\/p>\n
This set up a stylish showdown with Tampa Bay\u2019s third baseman, junior Dominican star Kaminero, who ranked second in the league behind Cruz. Kaminero reached the final after an early semi-final exit by twin outfielder Byron Buxton.<\/p>\n
Kaminero placed several homers along the left field line, captivating media members in the outdoor press box. After Raleigh scored 18 in the final round, Kaminero attempted a late surge to tie, but ran out of steam.<\/p>\n
At the event\u2019s climax, Laurie celebrated with Mariners teammates Landia Rozarena, Brian Wu, and Andres Munoz, before joyfully embracing family members.<\/p>\n
Todd Jr. summed it up well: \u201cHe\u2019s just a beast. He couldn\u2019t be any better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Todd Sr., who pitched during batting practice all night, admitted having trouble fully grasping his son’s phenomenal season.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople started comparing him to legends like Johnny Bench and Mickey Mantle,\u201d the longtime coach said. \u201cThat\u2019s tough for me to wrap my head around because those guys are baseball gods. But the stats don\u2019t lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though this was his first All-Star Derby appearance, Laurie isn\u2019t new to home run contests. In 2005, as an 8-year-old, he won an informal home run contest at a friend’s garden, dreaming of the big leagues. Despite the humble setting, \u201cBig Damper,\u201d as he would later be known, led the competition with the most home runs.<\/p>\n
On that day, young Laurie proudly proclaimed, \u201cI\u2019m the Home Run Derby Champion\u2026 In the pump, in the wump, in the champ, I\u2019m the champ.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that title holds true today.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Fan Take: Cal Laurie\u2019s rise from backyard contests to All-Star Derby champion symbolizes the classic baseball dream coming to life, inspiring fans everywhere. His electrifying performance and personal story not only energize Mariners fans but also underscore the enduring appeal and evolving excitement of the sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ATLANTA \u2014 On Monday morning, Stephanie Raleigh was pleasantly surprised to find a fresh navy blue jersey laid out on her hotel bed, accompanied by a heartfelt note written in black ink across the bright white letters of the uniform. “Mom, I love you so much! Thank you for all the sacrifices!” \u2014 Cal Laurie, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[16],"class_list":{"0":"post-13789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baseball","8":"tag-baseball"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}