Remember how much fun it was when the Phillies had the best catcher in baseball? That’s something that Mariners fans get to enjoy now. It’s tough to argue who the best catcher in baseball is at this moment in time, because Cal Raleigh is not only the reigning Gold Glove winner, but he’s also the leading home run hitter in the American League.
Raleigh has made a gradual progression to superstardom. After a shaky rookie season of 2021 in which he batted .180, he broke through with 27 home runs in 2022.
That total rose to 30 in 2023 and 34 in 2024. Combined with the Platinum Glove award given to the best overall fielder in the league, that earned him a 12th place finish in the MVP voting.
He might have finished even higher in the voting had the Mariners made the playoffs, but that’s something that they do only once every twenty years or so. They’re in decent shape to do so this season, but we’ll see.
Last month, Raleigh became both the first catcher and switch hitter to win the All-Star Home Run Derby when he outlasted Junior Caminero in the final round. By the time its over, this might be the best hitting season by a catcher ever.
Aaron Judge is currently the favorite to win the MVP this season, but if the Mariners can actually hold on to a playoff spot, it feels like Raleigh could overtake him.
X-Men character of the series
Storm
When people debate who the best X-men is, one of the first names to come up is almost always Storm. It’s easy to see why: She’s got a diverse and effective power set (“controlling weather” is vague enough that the writers can pretty much have her do anything that the plot requires) that makes her one of the most important members of the team. She’s also served as team leader and has done well in that role too. Basically, if you’re coming up with an All-Star X-Men team, you’re probably going to be taking Storm either first or second, depending on how you feel about Wolverine.
That said, some of her adaptations into other media have been a bit lacking. The animated version spent too much time talking to the weather (just shoot them with lightning, you don’t have to make a dramatic soliloquy every time), and we all remember this classic line from Halle Berry:
Additional thought about the series
With Zack Wheeler possibly out for the remainder of the season, the Phillies will likely need to rely more on their offense the rest of the way. Based on this past weekend, I’m not sure how confident I feel in that. They had two games where they hit well, and two games where the bats largely looked feeble against a Nationals team with unimposing pitching.
Alec Bohm provided a boost with a home run in his return yesterday, and Nick Castellanos finally contributed a couple of big hits after weeks of ineptitude. If the Phillies can regularly get that kind of production from their righthanded hitters, they have a chance to make some noise. A series against a solid Mariners pitching staff could serve as a good test to see where they actually stand.
