Cal Raleigh is a switch-hitting catcher for the Mariners, and one who hits for energy. On Wednesday, he launched the 99th and a hundredth residence runs of his profession, after which on Thursday evening, hit one other for good measure. That’s all regular stuff for “Large Dumper,” as he’s been so affectionately nicknamed, however what’s new is his alternative of bat.
Raleigh is a current convert to torpedo bats, which he picked up only a week in the past for the beginning of a Mariners-Rangers collection. That week has gone fairly effectively, however there may be additionally one thing essential to notice right here: Raleigh is just utilizing a torpedo bat when hitting from the left aspect of the plate. Which, granted, is extra typically than he bats from the proper aspect since there are way more right-handed pitchers within the league than there are lefties, but it surely’s nonetheless not one thing he’s doing for each plate look. Sufficient for 5 of the six residence runs he is hit since final Friday to be from the left aspect with a torpedo bat in hand, although.
The rationale for that, as Raleigh defined on The Cal Raleigh Show, which broadcasts on the Seattle Sports activities radio community, is because of how he prefers the load distribution of his bats relying on which aspect of the plate he’s hitting on. From the left, the torpedo bat’s thicker barrel works for him, given the character of his swing. From the proper, although, Raleigh’s swing is “flatter,” so he would somewhat have extra weight on the finish of the bat as a substitute of centered on the barrel.
Whereas Raleigh feels that the torpedo bat is as pure in his palms as what he was utilizing beforehand, there are variations. The barrel, in fact, however what has gotten much less consideration is the form of wooden used to provide these bats of their notable form. “There’s rules on maple bats due to the best way they break and the low density, so it’s a security factor for if you break them,” Raleigh explained on the present. “You don’t need pitchers [to] get hit or a place participant as a result of [maple bats] break really easy once they’re formed a sure approach and the barrel is just too massive. So that they preserve the maples slightly smaller, whereas ash or birch, you get to make the barrel lots larger as a result of the density and it’s not going to interrupt like a maple would.”
[MORE: Torpedo bats are ‘absolutely good’ for baseball, says MLB commissioner]
Maple bats weren’t all the time the ever present alternative amongst major-league gamers, as their rise owes a lot to the success of gamers like Barry Bonds throughout the late-90s and early-2000s. Torpedo bats won’t find yourself being for everybody — once more, even Raleigh, who appears to be a fan of them up to now, doesn’t have a great purpose to change to torpedoes from either side of the plate — but when they get in style sufficient, it might additionally take away slightly little bit of maple’s prominence because the go-to wooden for MLB bats.
What it can take for that to occur, although, is for gamers to love Raleigh to proceed to seek out success with the bats, and to have the ability to perceive why that success is occurring. MLB gamers are each open to adjustments that may enhance their efficiency, but additionally loathe to switch up what’s working, for comprehensible causes. Somebody like Raleigh who already hits for energy – he went deep 34 occasions in 2024, his second season of a minimum of 30 homers in three full years within the bigs – coming in and seeing extra success after switching up his bat kind is the form of factor that may flip heads amongst gamers who suppose they’re already in a great place, nonetheless.
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