Todd Raleigh recently joined the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast ahead of the World Baseball Classic.
Team USA picked up another pair of commits this week for the looming World Baseball Classic, officially adding Byron Buxton (Minnesota Twins) and Ernie Clement (Toronto Blue Jays) to the roster.
They join a star-studded roster that includes Bobby Witt Jr., Aaron Judge, Gunnar Henderson, Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes and Seattle Mariners star Cal Raleigh.
The M's catcher was among the very first commits to Team USA, as he announced his participation at the All-Star Game in Atlanta (July 2025).
Speaking on the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast, Raleigh's father, Todd, spoke about how much that selection means to him and his family.
Well, it means a lot. You know, very patriotic family, and I know it means a lot to Cal too. Like, you know, all things, everything that happens to him is nice, and he's like, 'yeah, yeah, whatever.' But this, this meant a lot to him. And, to get that call, I know Mark DeRosa personally, his son and my T, Cal's brother there, they play together in summer. So I've known Mark a while, and had an inkling that Mark was probably going to call him. But, tremendous, what a day that was.
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Cal Raleigh is certainly a worthy add to Team USA, as he put together a record-setting season in 2025. Raleigh hit 60 home runs and drove in 125 runs as the Mariners advanced all the way to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. He finished second in the American League MVP voting, started the All-Star Game and won the Home Run Derby.
His 60 home runs are the most ever by a Mariners player, a catcher or a switch-hitter.
In addition to the names listed above, Team USA will also be represented by Bryce Harper, Brice Turang and Joe Ryan, to name a few more. The Americans are one of the tournament favorites, along with Japan and the Dominican Republic.
Japan won the most recent tournament (2023) and has three tournament wins. The Americans won the tournament in 2017. The Dominican Republic won in 2013.
What other M's are participating?
Julio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic), Randy Arozarena (Mexico), Matt Brash (Canada), Josh Naylor (Canada) are all officially committed, with Michael Arroyo (Colombia), Andres Munoz (Mexico) and Eduard Bazardo (Venezuela) all expected to participate as well.
The WBC begins on March 4 and the title game is March 17. Opening Day is March 26.
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