Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has taken responsibility for the team's struggles, describing his own performance this season as "awful." The Mariners have lost five straight games and sit eight games below .500.
Raleigh, who finished second in American League MVP voting in 2025, is hitting .159 with a .264 on-base percentage and a .299 slugging percentage, with just 12 home runs in 86 games. This is a significant drop from his 2025 season, where he led the majors with 60 home runs and the AL with 125 RBIs.
"It’s not good. We’re not playing well," Raleigh told reporters. "That starts with me. I’m awful. I’ve got to find a way to be better, and to help bring the guys along. We’ve just got to play better. We’re just playing very, very, very bad baseball in every facet of the game."
The Mariners, who have won at least 85 games in each of the last five seasons, are currently 4 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West and four games out of the final AL wild-card spot.
Raleigh emphasized the need for improved energy and execution from the team. "We’ve got to pick it up, from the energy standpoint, to the execution, to the little things in the game that help you win baseball games," he said. "We’re just not doing those things right now."
He also reflected on the mental aspect of a difficult season. "It’s tough when things aren’t going your way, it’s hard. You feel like everybody’s against you, things aren’t going your way, but you’ve got to have a good attitude. You’ve got to bring that edge to play every single day, because nothing’s given to you," Raleigh stated. "We’ve got to go take it. Sometimes, when you’re feeling bad for yourself, you get a little lackadaisical out there and maybe have a little less energy, or maybe you don’t have quite the same edge that you should have every single day."
"That starts with me. I need to do a better job of that each and every night, just being prepared and being ready to go every single night," he added.
