It's only mid-August, and an argument can be made that Seattle Mariners superstar Cal Raleigh has had the best season a catcher has ever had. I mean, the guy is slashing .250/.358/.595 with a MLB-leading 46 home runs and an AL leading-100 RBI. Oh yeah, he's also one of the best defensive catchers in the sport, and his "Big Dumper" nickname is elite as well. As if Raleigh wasn't crushing it enough this season, he brought the heat to the Little League Classic game against the New York Mets with some of the coolest catching gear you'll ever see.
CAL RALEIGH'S CATCHING GEAR TODAY MY GOODNESS pic.twitter.com/4ouSqfPj7U
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 17, 2025
Every inch of the catchers gear is just perfect. The chest protector features images of all of his teammates in little league. On each side of the images are homages to his Big Dumper nickname and Williamsport, where the game is held. Even the helmet looks awesome with the neon green.
Raleigh knocked it out of the park with this in every way.
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Cal Raleigh somehow topped incredible season with even better catcher's gear
Much of the attention during Player's Weekend is on either the bats or cleats. There admittedly have been awesome bats and cleats that have been on display all weekend. Even Raleigh's bats deserve a ton of attention. but nothing comes close to the creativity of this catching gear. Not only does it look cool, but the attention to detail is why he's so beloved in Seattle. Even Rowdy Tellez, a player no longer on the Mariners, is featured on the chest protector. Raleigh did not have to do that, but again, he went the extra mile.
Raleigh is obviously a tremendous player on both sides of the ball, and could easily be the AL MVP this season, but he's an even better teammate. Raleigh could've chosen to highlight something that meant a lot to him like his family, friends, or even his nickname, but he chose to give his teammates some shine, and deserved attention at that.
All Mariners players do when discussing Raleigh the player and especially the person is rave about him. Luke Raley, only a couple of months after joining forces with Raleigh last season, had this to say about him:
"I don't think anyone's as important as Cal is to this team. He's as much of a workhorse as I am."
This was said before Raleigh took the leap to superstardom that he did. His work ethic and leadership are top-notch, and that's abundantly clear with his Little League Classic attire.
Whether Raleigh wins MVP or not remains to be seen, but he's the MVP of Seattle and the equipment MVP of Player's Weekend.