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Part of what makes Cal Raleigh a leader on the Mariners, despite being just 26 and with less than three full seasons of major league experience, is his commitment to the team and his conscientiousness toward his teammates.
In the aftermath of Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Rangers and their elimination from the postseason a little later, Raleigh made some critical comments about the organization, its commitment to winning and the future. It was sentiment lauded by fans, who felt they had an ally in their complaints.
But as the comments went viral on social media, Raleigh thought about how his teammates and coaches would perceive them. He didn't want them to feel slighted. Per sources, he contacted the Mariners late Saturday evening about wanting to make a statement before the final game of the regular season. He met with manager Scott Servais early Sunday and met with the media at 10 a.m., saying:
"Obviously, yesterday, it was a really emotional day, for everybody. I just want to apologize to my teammates, my coaches, the fans. It wasn't a time to talk about what-ifs in that scenario. That being said, I'm not going to apologize for wanting to win and wanting to bring a World Series to the city. They deserve it. The fans do, and this organization does. I'm committed to doing that.
"With that being said, I love all my teammates and coaches in there, and I'd do anything for them and I really thought we had the pieces to win this year. We didn't. We came up short and that falls on me as a team leader, as one of the main players every day. I have to live with that this offseason. We have to get better. I have to and I'm the first guy to say that. This offseason we're going to work really hard, keep working. The goal is to bring a World Series to the city of Seattle for the fans, and I'm not gonna stop working until we do that. That's all I have."
Did Servais, who preaches that players need to be themselves, think that Raleigh needed to apologize for what he said?
"Everybody has the right to have an opinion," Servais said. "I played in this league a long time and there wasn't a season that went by when we got eliminated where I wasn't frustrated and had opinions on maybe what we should do different or how we can do things differently."
Social media can make those opinions heard quickly when uttered.
"One thing I will say about Cal is he has an opportunity to be a big-time leader for us, not just on the field but in the clubhouse as well," Servais said. "And part of being a leader is understanding where you're at and being able to control your emotions at those times. I understand the frustration. Sometimes there's a better way to go about those things."
Most players already view Raleigh as a leader on the field and in the clubhouse. It's an honor earned out of respect for the physical pounding he takes behind the plate, his willingness to play hurt and his willingness to put the pitchers' success ahead of his own.
Raleigh doesn't need to worry about what his teammates think of what he said.
"I'll be honest, I haven't seen like the full quote from him," Ty France said before the game. "But everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I respect Cal a tremendous amount and he's really established himself as kind of a veteran guy on this team. He's put himself in that position to be able to speak openly. Personally I don't have an issue with anything he says, unless he comes out directly and is bashing one or two players, which I don't think he did. That's not the kind of guy he is. He's a very passionate player and teammate. I don't think anyone in here has an issue with whatever he said yesterday."
Talking to players postgame, they agreed with Raleigh's comments, starting with Logan Gilbert, who was his roommate in the minor leagues.
"Cal is the best and what he's done for this team can't be overstated," Gilbert said. "Everybody's got his back. I really don't think it was as controversial as it was made out to be. It's kind of just like, yeah, every team would be better by adding big players. That's just how the league works."
Gilbert didn't think Raleigh should've worried about his players being upset.
"I don't think it's a shot at all at the people we have here," Gilbert said. "We have the team to go to the playoffs. People have seen that. It would of course make it a little bit easier and hopefully we'd get a little farther by adding pieces. That's just how it always works. You build from within and you add pieces from the outside."
J.P. Crawford, the Mariners other team leader and unofficial team captain, made similar remarks.
"I think Cal had some great comments yesterday," Crawford said. "I know there was a big controversy about that earlier this morning. I'm with him on that. I think we need to go out there and really make a move to help this team win. And however it means doing that, they've just got to do it. And you just got to get better."
Crawford said he wants to communicate that to Mariners chairman John Stanton.
"For sure. I think we'll have a conversation or two about it when the time's right," Crawford said. "I think that's a conversation for later though, for sure."
The Rangers' success this season and their headline-grabbing additions of Marcus Semien and Corey Seager didn't go unnoticed.
"For sure, they added key pieces to their team," Crawford said. "And I think that's why they're in the situation that they are today. To be a winning team, I think you've got to have winning players like that."
With a large group of media surrounding him on Saturday night, Raleigh answered questions honestly about the team's failures and the needs.
"We've got to become a better team. Straight up," he said "We've been right at this 90-game [win] mark for a few years now. We've just got to become better. Something's got to change."
And Raleigh went right to player acquisition.
"We've got to commit to winning, we have to commit to going and getting those players you see other teams going out and getting — big time pitchers, getting big-time hitters," he said. "We have to do that to keep up."
And he wasn't finished.
"You look over at the other locker room right there, and they've added more [in free agency] than anybody else, and you saw where it got them this year," Raleigh said. "There's more than one way to skin a cat, that's for sure. But going out and getting those big names — people who have done it; people have been there; people who are leaders; people who have shown time and time again that they can be successful in this league — is definitely going to help this clubhouse and help this team."
