Cal Raleigh's magical 60-homer season begs to differ with MLB's 154-game proposal

The Mariners have one of the most underwhelming histories in the majors, with just six postseason appearances in 50 years and as the only current franchise to never even play in the World Series. As such, any positive memories M's fans have experienced, they lovingly hold onto like a new-born baby. With this in mind, you'll forgive us if we take issue with Major League Baseball's latest proposal to the MLB Players Association.

As things stand, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire on Dec. 1. And while the expectation is that a lockout is coming courtesy of the owners, the two sides are at least engaging in negotiations to try and stave off the seemingly inevitable. Not that we're particularly fussed with what's now being proposed, including the idea of reducing the regular season schedule from 162 games back down to 154.

Why are we so bothered about this? Think back to last year, when Cal Raleigh became just the seventh player in Major League history to reach 60 home runs in a campaign. This was the best story in baseball, and yet it wouldn't have happened if the Mariners only played 154 regular season games.

Still a special season for Cal Raleigh, just not AS special

Under that scenario, the Mariners' 2025 regular season campaign would have finished on Sept. 18, with Raleigh at 56 home runs (which would have 'only' tied Ken Griffey Jr.'s franchise record). He didn't reach the magical 60-home run mark until Game 158, at home to the Rockies. Why would Major League Baseball want to decrease the chances of something like this happening again?

For what it's worth, Aaron Judge would have still reached the 60-homer plateau in 2022 if the Yankees only played 154 regular season games. However, he wouldn't have made it to 62 home runs, meaning he would have been tied-eighth all-time as opposed to being all alone in seventh place.

As per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, another aspect of the latest proposal which we also disagree with, is allowing the highest seeds in both the Wild Card and Division Series rounds to select their opponents. Something just seems 'Mickey Mouse' about this idea. Instead, we would propose re-seeding after the Wild Card round, to ensure the team with the best record in each league faces the lowest remaining record.

Other MLB fanbases deserve the chance to experience a similar feeling

One proposal we do like, is expanding the Division Series round from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven. Of course, all of this is contingent on a salary cap, so good luck with that! It never changes, with Major League Baseball trying to sell players on quality of life improvements in exchange for less money.

In the grand scheme of things, we can at least objectively acknowledge those who contend sticking to 162 regular season games might not be a hill to choose to die on. However, when it comes to Mariners fans specifically, there's sentimentality there in general with this being the number of games played each year since the team entered the majors in 1977.

And more specifically, because it set the stage for Raleigh to join a special group of players, as he had arguably the best ever season by a catcher. Mariners fans will long remember the special moment when he hit number 60, so why reduce the chances of other fanbases experiencing a similar feeling of exhilaration?

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow