Tim Kurkjian details how the WBC didn’t help Cal Raleigh

The first half of Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh’s 2026 season looks quite a bit different than it did a year ago.

At this point last year, it had become clear the Raleigh was in the midst of special campaign. In the team’s first 81 games, he had already clubbed 32 homers.

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Through 81 games this year, Raleigh has eight homers and is batting just .164. The big drop in homers can partially be contributed to the month he spent on the injured list with a right oblique strain, which has limited him to just 48 games played. But the switch-hitting slugger’s struggles began well before he went on the injured list.

It had been widely speculated that leaving spring training to compete for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic threw Raleigh out of rhythm and contributed to the disappointing start. According to ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian, it very much did.

Kurkjian detailed the challenges the WBC presented to Raleigh when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy for a conversation on Wednesday.

“I asked somebody I trust on the Mariners, what happened to Cal? This is right before he was coming off the injured list, and he said the WBC killed him,” said Kurkjian, who noted he was around the team when it was in Baltimore two weeks ago. “And this is not to blame anybody at the WBC, but the way it works in the WBC, Cal Raleigh, according to my source, got nine at-bats in two weeks. And that’s just not good enough in spring training when you really need as many at-bats as possible to get your swing.”

Raleigh ended up with 13 total plate appearances during the WBC, going 0 for 9 with four walks while appearing in just three games.

The lack of playing time was definitely a new thing for Raleigh, who’s in the Mariners’ lineup as much as possible when healthy. Additionally, there weren’t opportunities for Raleigh to hit in the cages when he wasn’t in Team USA’s lineup, per Kurkjian.

“If you’re not taking four at-bats a game or four every other game, you’re hitting in the cage constantly because that’s what players do now,” Kurkjian said. “… But at the WBC there was not a facility there where Cal Raleigh, (if he’s not) starting… can go hit in (throughout the day). So again, that was the explanation to me. That was the reason that he got off to such a bad start, is that he was thrown out of kilter from the WBC.”

Not getting the reps he’s used to could impact Raleigh more than other players. He’s known for his meticulous preparation, and he has two swings to get right as a switch-hitter.

The Mariners did get a good sign from Raleigh on Tuesday night when he hit his first home run since returning from the injured list a week prior. The club expects to see plenty more of that as the season goes on.

“This same source told me he’s going to crush it (in) the second half. That’s what he told me, and I believe that because this game is so difficult to play,” Kurkjian said. “When your timing is off or anything is off, you go from a great player to a not-very-good player overnight – and it happens all the time. Whereas the great NBA jump shooters don’t shoot 50% from the floor one year and 18% the next, it happens in baseball all the time.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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