Young Cal Raleigh's dream powerfully came true in Mariners Home Run Derby masterclass

In the annals of great sluggers who famously called their shots, we need to have a serious conversation about whether Cal Raleigh has one-upped even Babe Ruth's legendary home run from the 1932 World Series.

For one thing, Ruth's called shot from the '32 Fall Classic is arguably more myth than legend. And even if it did happen, it was moments before but one of the 729 total home runs that he hit in his major league career.

As for Raleigh, he can officially call himself the Home Run Derby champ after winning the event at Truist Park on Monday night. But it's not for the first time, as he was literally calling himself the "Home Run Derby champ" as an eight-year-old in this 20-year-old clip that his father, Todd, shared with MLB.com's Daniel Kramer:

So, go ahead and add another credential to an ever-growing list of them for the Seattle Mariners' superstar catcher. He's a premium slugger, a Platinum Glove-winning defender, the keeper of the best nickname in sports — right, Vinnie Pasquantino? — and, apparently, a prophet.

Cal Raleigh's Home Run Derby dream came true in a masterful performance

Raleigh, who's now 28, put on a truly impressive display on Monday. He hit a total of 54 home runs in three rounds, which is that much more remarkable considering that he was only the second switch-hitter to ever bat from both sides of the plate in a Home Run Derby.

Distance-wise, Raleigh peaked with a 471-foot blast in the first round. Well, it was technically 470.62 feet, which ended up mattering given that his total of 17 homers tied him with Brent Rooker at the bottom of the standings. The player who hit the longest homer advances in such tie-breaking situations, and Rooker maxed out at "only" 470.54 feet.

Raleigh then dispatched Oneil Cruz, who hit the longest homer of the event at 513 feet, by a 19-13 score in the second round. He did the same to Junior Caminero in the finals at 18-15, even though Caminero was gifted a "home run" on a ball that was caught at the wall by one of the young ball-shaggers in the outfield.

Strokes of good and bad luck aside, it was all too fitting that Raleigh was sending blast after blast into the Atlanta night courtesy of the very man who captured his prophecy on tape two decades. It was indeed a family affair all around, as Todd Sr. was doing the pitching for Raleigh while his younger brother, Todd Jr., was behind the plate doing the catching.

“I mean, I don't know where they found that thing in the archives. Yeah, just kind of surreal," Raleigh said of the viral video, again per Kramer. "You don't think you're going to win it. You don't think you'll ever get invited. Then you get invited. The fact that you win it with your family, super special. Just what a night.”

For Raleigh, it's yet another new height on his meteoric rise to superstardom in 2025. He was a cult hero in the Pacific Northwest before this season, but then he signed a $105 million extension, got voted into the All-Star Game as the American League's starting catcher, and finished the first half with an AL-record 38 home runs. Now everyone wants a piece of "Big Dumper."

As for what's next, Mariners fans certainly wouldn't mind if Raleigh tried putting those prophetic skills of his to further use. If, say, he were to predict he'll win the AL MVP and the Mariners will finally win the World Series, the baseball world would have to take notice.