Mariners reach their commercial apex with Cal Raleigh, Félix Hernández tribute

Call us easily amused if you want. But when we see new Seattle Mariners commercials, we clap. And when we see one in which Cal Raleigh pays tribute to Félix Hernández's alter ego, we're like everyone else: completely unable to look away.

Here it is, in which Raleigh dons a comical disguise and becomes "Hal Baleigh," just so he can trick pitchers into giving him something to hit:

This. This is it right here. No notes. Just a question: Had those glasses, wig and mutton chops been in storage this whole time since 2011, or...

Actually, never mind that. The point is that "Larry Returns" is a bona fide hit. It has 24,000 views on the Mariners' YouTube page, compared to no more than 15,000 for the other three new commercials the team has released — titled "Babyproofed," "Torpedo 2.0" and "Comin' in Hot," respectively.

Mariners dip into the past to hype a present that everyone wants a piece of

When we ranked the top 10 Mariners commercials of all time last year, the "Encore! Encore!" one in which King Félix takes the mound disguised as "Larry Bernández" only took the No. 4 spot. We obviously don't see that as evidence of our incompetence, but rather as evidence of how many bangers the franchise has produced.

Of all the ads the Mariners have ever done, though, none have achieved a lasting legacy on par with Larry Bernández. It became a thing immediately in 2011, even culminating in a Larry Bernández bobblehead giveaway at T-Mobile Park. Even today, one of the first things that comes up when you Google that name is a jokey Reddit post wondering what happened to him.

Does the new Larry Bernández reboot make total sense with Raleigh as its star? Not really, honestly. After last year's franchise-record streak of six-inning starts, Bryan Woo would have been a better fit for the gag of the original, in which Félix is trying to pitch back-to-back days.

But then again, it's not so easy to turn a real W into a fake B. And if we're talking about how to achieve maximum comedy, putting Raleigh in that getup has the same effect as seeing Tom Cruise as his Tropic Thunder character.

The story behind "Larry Returns" is predictably charming, and perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that it has found such a large audience despite only going live on Tuesday.

The Mariners came into 2026 hot off being the most Googled sports team in America last year, and Raleigh is their biggest star. Those two things plus humor and nostalgia would make for a hit commercial.

The other winner here? Larry Bernández, of course. Interest in him had been dormant, but it's ticked up again in a major way.