M’s Raleigh addresses controversial interference call

The Seattle Mariners’ loss on Monday night to the Athletics featured some controversy in the 10th inning.

With runners on first and second base and the scored tied at 6-6, A’s second baseman and former Mariner Luis Urías hit a chopper to shortstop and was thrown out at first base for what appeared to the first out of the inning. Instead, Urías was awarded first base to load the bases when home plate umpire Nestor Ceja called catcher’s interference on Cal Raleigh.

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Mariners manager Dan Wilson challenged the call on the field, and it was confirmed. The replay showed that Urías’ bat grazed the lacing of Raleigh’s glove on the swing. By definition of the rule, it was catcher’s interference, although it was a potentially game-changing call on something that appeared to have no impact on the swing.

Raleigh discussed the play and how catchers prepare themselves to avoid interference calls with Mariners insider Shannon Drayer during the latest edition of The Cal Raleigh Show (which will air Thursday at 5 p.m. during Wyman and Bob) on Seattle Sports.

Raleigh said he didn’t realize there was any contact between his glove and Urías’ bat when the play happened live, but he was impressed Ceja was able to spot it.

“Looking back at the film, when you really zoom in, you can see my lace kind of go, but, I mean, it’s just crazy,” he said. “It’s very impressive that he called that. So if it did hit it, then that’s a good call but just tough in the moment.”

Catcher’s interference calls have been on the rise over the past few years, with the biggest factor being pitch-framing metrics favoring catchers who receive the ball closer to the plate.

Drayer asked Raleigh what catchers can do to try and prevent interference from happening. He said he gets swing information from the club’s advanced scouting department.

“They do a good job of identifying guys with long backswings and the people who have catcher interferences in the past, and it is a real thing,” Raleigh said.

Urías is one the players to be wary of when it comes to interference calls, Raleigh said.

“I just got a tick too close last night and I should have backed up a little more,” Raleigh said. “But yeah, it’s just like any other thing with the scouting report, you look at guys who have (long backswings), don’t have them, things like that. I want to say that’s like his eighth or ninth since he’s been in the big leagues.”

Muñoz’s epic escape

At the end of the day, the interference call didn’t end up costing the Mariners the game. Closer Andrés Muñoz sat down the next three batters on strikeouts to escape the jam in an inning where he received multiple unfavorable calls from the umpire crew.

Before the Urías at-bat, A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz was awarded a walk on a 3-2 check swing that he appeared to clearly go across the plate on, and the first pitch of Urías’ at-bat was a fastball well inside the strike zone that was called as a ball.

Raleigh said he used the time during the review of the interference call as an opportunity to talk with his closer, which was notable since the M’s were out of mound visits at the time.

“I went out there and talked to him during that review call and just told him, ‘Hey, best on best. Whatever happens, happens, but give me your best stuff,’” Raleigh said. “And he went out there and got three huge punchouts, which was crazy.”

Muñoz had allowed the ghost runner on second base to score to on a leadoff single to tie the game in the 10th, the first run he had allowed all season. Otherwise, it was another stellar performance by the M’s closer, who is still sporting a 0.00 ERA while leading the American League with 12 saves.

“He’s been doing high-leverage innings like that for as long as he’s been a Mariner,” Raleigh said. “That’s pretty much his whole time in the big leagues, so it’s very impressive. He’s continuing to learn, and grow and get better, and he’s doing a great job.”

Hear the full conversation with Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh during The Cal Raleigh Show on Thursday at 5 p.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM. The podcast will be available on the Seattle Sports app afterwards.

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