Cal Raleigh, Mariners return favor with special gift for fan who gave 60th home run ball to kid

Douglas Santo

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Cal Raleigh, Mariners return favor with special gift for fan who gave 60th home run ball to kid image

On Wednesday night against the Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh went deep, not once, but twice in the Mariners division clinching 9-2 win.

Raleigh, who's put together an unbelievable season, had 58 home runs coming into the game, and his eighth inning bomb made him just the seventh player in MLB history to hit 60 home runs in a single season.

However, the night got even sweeter when Raleigh's historic home run landed in the stands. The fan who caught the historic home run gave the ball to a kid nearby, who the Mariners negotiated with to return the historic ball to Raleigh. But once the Mariners' found out who the fan was that actually caught the ball, they made sure to give him a special moment as well.

Raleigh, Mariners Reward Fan For Noble Act

As videos circulated of the Mariners' fan catching Raleigh's historic home run ball and a kid walking away with the ball, the Mariners went to social media to find out who the noble fan was.

A day later, Seattle was able to find the fan and set up a meet and greet with Raleigh to reward the fan for not only catching the ball, but giving it away to the kid.

The fan and his family got to meet Raleigh before the Mariners' Thursday night game against the Rockies and were given a bat signed by Raleigh with a special message written on it.

"Glenn, thanks for being a good guy and nice catch," was written on the bat.

This season alone, there's been differing reactions to the memorable moments of fans catching home run balls. Everyone is familiar with the "Phillies Karen," who ripped the ball away from a kid, and received tons of public backlash.

However, on Wednesday night in Seattle, not only did this fan catch a historic home run, but he gifted it to a young fan nearby.

He still received some backlash because of the potential value that home run ball will hold in auctions. However, he received a lot of praise on social media for his generous act as well.

Then, the Mariners made sure to give him and his family a special moment to recognize him for the selfless act, by setting up time for the family and Raleigh to meet and have an unforgettable moment.

Raleigh now has three games left to try to match or break Aaron Judge's 62 home run record season from 2022.

Douglas Santo

Douglas Santo is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. As a senior at Arizona State University, he will complete his B.A. in sports journalism with a minor in business in December 2025. Before his time with Sporting News, Douglas covered the NFL and MLB for Athlon Sports and contributed as a digital reporter for Arizona PBS/Cronkite News. He is also the head of Sun Devil Daily, managing all content produced about Arizona State Sports.