Wilson's steady influence on Raleigh's career

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- Cal Raleigh still vividly remembers his first career game in professional baseball and how far he’s come since. He also recalled one constant through it all, a mentor who’s been there from the very beginning.

New Mariners manager Dan Wilson.

Indeed, Wilson was in attendance for Raleigh’s pro debut for Class A Short-Season Everett on July 18, 2018, one month after he was selected by Seattle in the third round of that year’s Draft. Raleigh went 2-for-4 that day, and he was still three years away from the Majors (Raleigh would make his debut on July 11, 2021). But his first interaction with Wilson stood out.

“He’s always been there for me,” Raleigh said. “He’s built relationships with other people in this club as well. One thing about Dan, you'll never hear one person ever say anything about that guy. It's crazy. So it kind of tells you the kind of man he is.”

This is Wilson’s 11th season on the front-office side, the past six of which he spent as a special assignment coordinator before taking over for Scott Servais on Thursday.

If Wilson’s former title sounds ambiguous, it’s because it is -- one that was wide-ranging and featured him serving as a hybrid coach and mentor on the Minors side, where he’d travel to each affiliate throughout the season to connect with Seattle’s prospects.

Wilson resonated with Raleigh perhaps more than any player in that time.

“Looking back to those times at [Low-A] Modesto, [Triple-A] Tacoma, it was never really about my swing,” Raleigh said. “It wasn't about mechanics. It was about little things in the game and staying tuned in and watching for approach stuff and talking about, 'What can I do each day to keep getting better? And how can I continue to grow as a ballplayer?'”

Wilson also spent the 2020 campaign at the alternate training site in Tacoma, when the Minors season was canceled -- a time that was obviously uncertain for reasons beyond baseball, but especially for players like Raleigh, who had their player development stalled significantly for an entire year.

“He was always somebody who could kind of keep me sane,” Raleigh said, “and push me in the right direction, and the guy who knows the game and can continue to put things on my head and make me challenge myself for the next step.

“It was always like a step ahead, always a very good time. Because he was teaching me things, even when things were going right, like teaching me things that I needed to know for the next level, that would be beneficial for me in the future.”

As the son of a former college coach, Raleigh has been a student of the game -- quite literally -- since he was in diapers. And as a player who’s seized a role as a steward for the franchise, both within the clubhouse and in the community, Raleigh also has a respectful appreciation for players like Wilson, one of just 11 members of the Mariners Hall of Fame. The fact that Wilson played the same position created a natural attraction, too.

“I think all catchers have a bond in some way, and we like to talk about it and share, but he's pretty special that way,” Wilson said. “And he's got a little old school in him as well, which is, for us older guys, that's kind of a nice thing too.”

Wilson is easily the Mariners’ best catcher in franchise history, leading the position with 1,251 games played. But if Raleigh keeps at this pace -- and remains in Seattle long term -- it’s an unofficial recognition that he could one day take.

“I can't say enough about the support that I've received here at the ballpark, around the community, around Seattle ... you couldn't have asked for more,” Wilson said. “So I'm super grateful for that.”

And to be sure, Raleigh also acknowledged the impact of Servais and former hitting coach Jarret DeHart, who was also let go last week.

“They're not the ones swinging the bat and pitching the ball and etc.,” Raleigh said. “But it's a tough game, not only for players, but for the coaches. They know what they sign up for, and unfortunately, I hate to see them go.”