Cal Raleigh Slams Pitch-Calling from Dugout

0:00It's April 28th. This is MLB News today, driven by AI following the season in real time. Cal Raleigh, the Seattle Mariners catcher, who finished as the 2025 American League most valuable player runner-up, is pushing back hard, against teams calling pitches from the dugout. This guy had one of the best offensive seasons ever for a primary catcher, and snagged the platinum glove in 2024 for his elite framing, and running game control. Lately, squads like the Marlins and Rockies have jumped on this trend full time this season, while the Mets and Giants have tested it out too. It's all about easing the load on catches with data-driven calls straight from the bench. Raleigh called it straight up stupid on a recent podcast, saying it kills the art of learning to catch, and turns pitching into boring repeats. Spam the same pitches from computers, he argues, and hitters just figure them out quick, no matter how elite they start. He gets to the park early every day for homework on scouting reports, but stresses games throw curveballs, like a lead-off homer shaking a pitcher.

1:03Prep matters, yet that human field keeps staffs humming, just like the Mariners crew right now, with the staff earn run average of 3.7. Eight, seventh best in the league. Coming from a family of catchers, Raleigh digs managing the game on the fly. It's why he fell for the position young and wants it to stay that way. Starting brains and instinct, every inning.