Cal Raleigh was due.
And if that sounds like an exaggeration, not really. When you hit 60 home runs in the regular season, you really are due if you haven't homered in the first two games of a series.
In Game 3 of the ALDS, the Seattle Mariners' catcher proved that to be true.
He launched a home run to deep left-center at Comerica Park in Detroit, an exclamation point on an 8-1 win that gave the Mariners a 2-1 series lead.
After those 60 homers in the regular season, it was the first in the playoffs for Raleigh, making it 61 for the season.
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His home run went to the perfect fan.
There was a guy out beyond the bullpen wearing a shirt that read, "Dump here 61," an ode to Raleigh's Big Dumper nickname and the number of his pending homer.
Somehow, of all the places in the ballpark for it to go, Raleigh's home run ball took one hop right to the guy in that shirt.
CAL JUST HIT HIS 61ST HR TO A GUY WEARING A DUMPER SHORT WITH 61 ON IT pic.twitter.com/mRdc9lD4Z2
— Fuzzy (@fuzzyfromyt) October 8, 2025
What are the odds of that?
In this magical season for Raleigh, somehow it makes sense that he'd pull off such a feat of finding the perfect fan to get this baseball.
The best part may have been the postscript, though.
The fan took off his 61 shirt, and under it, he had a matching shirt with 62 on it.
Raleigh wouldn't get the chance to hit his 62nd home run in Game 3. But maybe he and the fan run this back in Game 4.
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