Los Mariners aseguran la victoria en el Juego 1 de la ALCS sobre los Blue Jays

"...But man, if ever there was a game to show why Raleigh would be a deserving winner, it was Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday night, in which the Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1...."

"...The victory was especially momentous for the Mariners, considering the circumstances...."

"...Raleigh, who caught 209 pitches in Game 5 of the DS, was at the center of it all, playing any number of familiar roles — slugger, receiver, pitcher whisperer, Kevin Gausman dominator, Rogers Centre owner...."

"...Plus, for those who recall some ill-conceived remarks from Jays manager John Schneider in April 2023, avenger, too...."

"...I am not here to relitigate the case for either Raleigh or Judge...."

"...I did not have an AL MVP vote this year, but my personal belief is there was no wrong choice...."

"...Both players had historic seasons, in different ways...."

"...A tie — the same kind that occurred in the 1979 NL race between the St. Louis Cardinals’ Keith Hernandez and Pittsburgh Pirates’ Willie Stargell — would be entirely appropriate...."

"...Whatever the outcome, the breadth of what Raleigh undertakes on a nightly basis, playing the most important defensive position on the field and hitting home runs like no switch-hitter in major-league history, remains nothing short of astonishing...."

"...Against a team that pounded the Yankees for 34 runs in four games, the Mariners retired 23 of their last 24 hitters, finishing the Jays on a tidy 100 pitches...."

"...But for the toughest Cal since Ripken Jr., the 6-foot-2, 235-pound rock who plays through one ache and pain after another, it was essentially just another day at the yard...."

"...Including postseason, Raleigh is now 8-for-17 (.471) with four homers against Gausman, one of the premier pitchers in the game...."

"...At Rogers Centre, he is 17-for-54 (.315) with nine homers and 19 RBIs...."

"...But afterward, much of the talk revolved around his visit to Miller after the pitcher’s second walk of the first inning...."

"...Ah, but enough ribbing...."

"...Miller conceded that Raleigh always times his visits properly, slowing pitchers down and getting them back in the zone...."

"...Gilbert, too, acknowledged that Raleigh knows what he’s doing...."

"...And Mariners manager Dan Wilson praised Raleigh for his visit, saying he calmed Miller down during an inning that, “could have exploded pretty quickly.”..."

"...It didn’t, but even though Miller settled in, allowing just two baserunners after the first inning, the Mariners trailed entering the sixth, 1-0...."

"...In Raleigh’s first at-bat against Gausman, he singled on a first-pitch fastball...."

"...In his second, Gausman threw him five straight split-fingered fastballs, striking him out...."

"...Raleigh’s next turn came in the sixth, with none on and two out...."

"...He got ahead of Gausman 2-0, then took a called strike on a perfect split down and in that barely nicked the zone...."

"...Gausman practically bounced his next splitter, and Raleigh fouled it off for strike two...."

"...Then came another split, down, but not down enough...."

"...Raleigh pounded it to right-center for his 62nd homer of the season, including playoffs...."

"...After a walk to Julio Rodríguez, Schneider pulled Gausman at 76 pitches...."

"...Jorge Polanco hit an RBI single later that inning and another in the eighth...."

"...But it was Raleigh’s homer, in the words of third baseman Eugenio Suárez, that, “woke us up.”..."

"...To think, Schneider in April 2023 said Raleigh was “not very tough to pitch to when you execute your pitches.”..."

"...Even then, coming off a game in which Raleigh hit two homers in a 10-8 Mariners win, the manager’s remark was cringeworthy...."

"...Raleigh fired back at Schneider a year later, saying, “I know a lot of guys have beef with him in this league,” adding, “if you don’t have anything nice, don’t say it all, I guess, if you don’t want it to come back on you.”..."

"...Naturally, Schneider was asked to revisit his comments before Sunday night’s game...."

"...Sunday night, Raleigh showed it again...."

"...He is now 10-for-25 (.400) in the postseason while the rest of the Mariners are 35-for-193 (.181)...."

"...He also has caught every inning of every game, 61 in all, after playing 1,072 innings behind the plate during the regular season, third only to Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto (1,151 1/3) and Milwaukee’s William Contreras (1,111 2/3)...."

"...Is he the AL MVP? We’ll find out in November...."

"...But in Game 1, Raleigh donned the tools of ignorance and performed with his usual intelligence, putting his stamp on the game in all the ways that only he can...."

"...Then he shrugged and got ready to do it again in Game 2, less than 24 hours away...."