&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Home Run Derby: Mariners' Cal Raleigh first catcher to win after surviving Round 1 by 0.08 feet")
Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh has become the first catcher to win All-Star Home Run Derby after staving off Tampa Bay Rays infielder Junior Caminero in the final. Raleigh had 38 HRs while entering the derby - the most ever in the history and going past Luis Gonzalez (2001), Ken Griffey Jr's (1998) record of 35 home runs. Raleigh almost missed the final round but his 470.61 feet HR in the Round 1 was just 0.08 feet longer than Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker when both were tied with 17 HRs.
"Usually, the guy that's leading the league in homers doesn't win the whole thing," Raleigh said after the win. "That's as surprising to me as anybody else. An inch off and I'm not even in the final four, which is amazing. So, I guess I got lucky there: one extra biscuit," he added.
He was pitched to by his dad Todd Raleigh while Cal's younger brother Todd Raleigh Jr. took the catcher's position. "Anybody that's ever played baseball as a kid dreams of stuff like this," Raleigh Sr. said. "I dreamed of it. He dreamed of it. When you're a parent, you look at it differently because you want your kids to be happy." Watch it below:
In the final round, Raleigh hit 18 home runs to Rooker's 15 but the latter was fun about it, almost and said: "They told me before I went up there that I could take two pitches, but I didn't know when they told me that there were only 40 balls already in the crate. So, I took two pitches that didn't count, but when we went to do the round, there was only 38 remaining. So, we got down to having two pitches with five seconds left and they're out of baseballs."
