Mariners hitting coach has the right ideas with tough love for Cal Raleigh

When you're driven to be the best, you have a desire to always work hard and become better at your craft no matter how great you are, with Michael Jordan, Tom Brady and Cristiano Ronaldo standing out as prime examples. Well, it seems that Cal Raleigh is of a similar ilk despite coming off arguably (really) the best season ever by a catcher, including becoming just the seventh player in Major League history to hit 60 home runs.

If you don't believe us, then listen to this nice little spot by Mariners hitting coach Kevin Seitzer on Seattle Sports with Mike Salk and Brock Huard. Seitzer admitted he was at first amused when Raleigh asked him what he can do better this coming season, but then took the question more seriously and offered a couple of things:

In fairness, Seitzer's points about Raleigh focusing on shrinking his strike zone and not biting as much at breaking balls both check out. As per his Baseball Savant page, the 2025 AL MVP runner-up had a a Chase% in the 25th percentile, while he also hit just .217 with 11 home runs against breaking balls compared to .253 with 39 homers versus fastballs.

Mariners still predicting plenty of home runs

Now, of course the Mariners would love to see Raleigh strive to challenge for 60 home runs again in 2026, but the reality is that was one of those once-in-a-lifetime kind of deals. Not that the projections don't still have him hitting a boatload of bombs, with Baseball Reference tabbing him for 39 and ZiPS along with Pecota having him down to reach 41.

However, key to the 2024 Platinum Glove winner still being able to have another successful season with the Mariners is to focus on what Seitzer has pointed out, and basically become a tougher out as part of his next evolution. The question is, just how feasible is this in reality?

Well, the optics look good just based on the first five years of Raleigh's Major League career, with his offensive stats improving overall every year. More than just pure numbers though, it's about combining this with his aforementioned desire to work hard and continually develop his craft.

Cal Raleigh has the natural disposition and makeup to succeed

Nobody works harder in baseball than the 29-year-old and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with a stronger desire to be great, with both assets seemingly being inherent in his genetic makeup. (What do you mean you can tell biology wasn't my strong point in school??) We've made reference to it already, but go and read an article by ESPN's Buster Olney to really get a telling and fascinating insight into the mindset of the Mariners' clubhouse leader.

Not that Raleigh can or wants to do it all alone when it comes to improving, with it refreshing that he's humble enough to ask Seitzer for advice and help. The two have quickly developed a strong relationship in just over a year of working together, with Julio Rodríguez wanting to also get involved on his own path to greatness.

While there are no guarantees, you wouldn't bet against Raleigh pulling it off in his quest to shrink his strike zone and note bite at breaking balls. If he does, then you can quite easily see a 40-homer season with an OBP of around .400, which would more than play its part in the Mariners' quest to finally tie down that elusive World Series berth.