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Astros’ bullpen catcher had cool gesture for Cal Raleigh

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Sep 21, 2025 12:10 PM ET

Cal Raleigh reached another career milestone with a home run on Saturday, and one of his opponents went out of his way to get the ball to the Seattle Mariners slugger.

Raleigh hit a solo home run off of Framber Valdez during the top of the third inning of the Mariners’ 6-4 win over the Houston Astros at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas. The homer was Raleigh’s 57th of the season, which broke a tie with Ken Griffey Jr. to make Raleigh the Mariners’ franchise record-holder for most home runs in a single season. You can see the video here.

The home run ball landed in the Astros’ bullpen, but Raleigh ended up getting it back. Longtime Astros bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte made sure to get the ball to Raleigh, who clearly appreciated the gesture.

This is pretty awesome.

The Astros bullpen catcher who got the ball Cal Raleigh hit for home run number 57 to break Ken Griffey Jr.’s Mariners record for a season hands Raleigh the ball for him to keep after the M’s beat his team in a huge game.

pic.twitter.com/yu5Rnq3G50
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) September 21, 2025

Raleigh is having an MVP-caliber season and setting records along the way. He will likely wind up with a number of valuable mementos from his big year, and he can thank Bracamonte for securing homer No. 57 for him.

Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout also hit a milestone home run on Saturday and got the ball back, though he had to make an awesome trade with a fan for it.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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