Mariners' Cal Raleigh reveals why he loves baseball in midst of history-making season

Billy Heyen

Mariners' Cal Raleigh reveals why he loves baseball in midst of history-making season image

Cal Raleigh is having one of the greatest baseball seasons ever.

The Seattle Mariners catcher is both a superb defender and also suddenly the best home-run hitter on the planet.

He's even got the best nickname in the game, Big Dumper.

MORE: Here's why Cal Raleigh is called Big Dumper

Raleigh also has a wonderful perspective on the game of baseball. He revealed his thoughts to ESPN's Jeff Passan in a new feature story.

This is how Raleigh explained his love for baseball:

"I really love the game of baseball. I really do. I love the scouting reports. I love catching. I love running the game. I love hitting, obviously. It's a game that you can love so much -- and at the same time, when things go wrong, it can be one of the worst things in the world. That's kind of what makes it so great, right?"

Right indeed.

Raleigh entered the All-Star break with 38 home runs and 10 stolen bases. Both are already career-highs for the 6-foot-2, 235-pound catcher.

His 38 homers in the first half were second only to Barry Bonds for a pre-All-Star-Game total.

Raleigh has a chance to set single-season records for catcher home runs, switch-hitter home runs and even maybe the AL home run mark of 62 held by Aaron Judge.

Baseball is brilliant all the time, but even more so when Raleigh is putting together a season for the ages like this.

MORE: Cal Raleigh called his Home Run Derby shot when he was 8 years old

Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle