One of the few Mariners fans in a crowd of Tigers fans in Detroit had a very specific request for Cal Raleigh Tuesday night. Raleigh was happy to oblige.
Raleigh entered the ninth inning of Tuesday’s ALDS Game 3 on a sizzling playoff streak, hitting 5 for 12 with an RBI in two-plus games. But Big Dumper had yet to do what he does best — hit a home run.
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That changed in the ninth. With his Mariners holding a 6-1 lead, Raleigh punctuated an 8-4 win with his first home run of the postseason, a two-run opposite-field shot that cleared the left-field wall.
It was a powerful exclamation point on a game that gave the Mariners a 2-1 series lead to move within a win of the ALCS. But what happened after Raleigh’s contact was even more remarkable.
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The ball bounced into the bullpen and up toward the first row of the outfield stands. There, an opportunistic fan snagged the ball with his glove. Said fan was the only Mariners fan sitting in a sea of Tigers fans.
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And his shirt conveyed the aforementioned specific request. The Mariners teal shirt read “DUMP 61 HERE” in large silver font.
That’s exactly what Raleigh did. After a historic, 60-home run campaign in the regular season, Raleigh dumped his 61st of 2025 directly where the fan asked for it.
And said fan was ready for more. He stripped his shirt to reveal another that read “DUMP 62 HERE.”
That ask, alas, proved to be too much. Raleigh didn’t have another at-bat. Maybe our hero will have another shot in Wednesday’s Game 4.
In the meantime, he’ll surely settle for home run ball No. 61, a meet-and-greet with Raleigh and an autographed bat from his hero.
What a night for Raleigh and one of his biggest fans.
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