Seattle Mariners superstar catcher Cal Raleigh hit a home run right to a fan who was literally telling him to during Game 3 of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Tuesday night.
In the ninth inning, “Big Dumper” showed off his opposite-field power by crushing a home run into the left-center field bullpen.
The ball bounced from the bullpen into the stands and into the hands of a fan wearing a shirt that read, “Dump 61 Here.” Raleigh hit an MLB-best 60 home runs — an MLB record for catchers — in the regular season, and this homer gave him 61 overall this year.
“He literally has a shirt that says ‘Dump Here,’ and he got the home run on a bounce,” play-by-play announcer Adam Amin said on the FS1 broadcast (which turned into the FS2 broadcast).
“Oh my word,” analyst Adam Wainwright responded.
“For 61,” analyst A.J. Pierzynski exclaimed.
But wait, there’s more.
Not only did the fan have a “Dump 61 Here” shirt, but he also had a second shirt on hand to put on when it was time for No. 62.
Amin said, “So, he’s got the 61 shirt; he’s got a 62 shirt!”
Wainwright responded, “NO WAY!”
Raleigh’s homer gave the Mariners an 8-1 lead, and they held off a ninth-inning rally attempt by the Tigers to hang on for an 8-4 win. Seattle takes a 2-1 lead in a best-of-five series.
Update: The fan got to meet Raleigh after the game.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.