Yes, that really is Cal Raleigh’s actual nickname, dubbed by his former teammate Jarred Kelenic which for obvious reasons has stuck in the clubhouse and with the fans.

Raleigh opened up the third game of this series in the 10th inning against the Blue Jays yesterday, on their way to a 6-1 win in extras. Tim Mayza would take his first loss of the season as the Jays would take their home opener series against the Mariners, 2 games to 1.

What really jumps off the page is Raleigh’s numbers against Toronto. He’s had 9 home runs in 15 appearances against the Jays and bats .264 with 16 RBI’s. Needless to say, when Cal goes yard against Toronto, The Mariners have gone 5-2. Jays fans will be triggered back to 2 post seasons ago where the Seattle offense carved up Toronto’s pitching.

Around this time last season, Raleigh went yard twice in a win against Toronto to which Jays Manager John Schneider responded to reporters with,

“He’s not very tough to pitch to when you execute your pitches. He’s hitting .200. I know he’s done damage against us, and I think if you execute – he’s obviously got big damage potential, he’s got a lot of strikeout potential too. And when you execute your pitches, you usually get the job done.”

Fast forward a year later, Raleigh continues to inflict damage on the Jays, and when asked about Schneider’s comments he replied,

“I know a lot of guys have beef with him (Schneider) in the league, so his comments aren’t surprising. I don’t have much to say. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all, if you don’t want it to come back on you.”

The Blue Jays head to Seattle July 5-7 for their annual west coast series against the Mariners. The rivalry continues to build, so mark this series in your calendars.