Jul 24, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) is congratulated by catcher Cal Raleigh (29) after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Cal Raleigh & Julio Rodriguez look to avenge the Mariners' heartbreaking finish of 2025

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Ryan Boman | Last updated Jan 31, 2026 11:39 PM ET

Despite finishing the 2025 regular season with 90 wins and an AL West title, the Seattle Mariners finished things on a bleak note. Entering the postseason with high hopes, they would eventually be eliminated in the American League Championship Series after blowing a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven showdown against the Blue Jays. While Toronto was playing in the Fall Classic, the M's were forced to sit home and wonder what might have been.

"It was hard, just because the World Series was going on, and you feel like you should still be playing,” Raleigh said, according to MLB.com writer Daniel Kramer. “Part of me is like, I don't know if you really ever move on. I think, essentially, you're going to be feeling that one for a long time.

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“And it doesn't matter if you eventually go on to win it or not -- like, you're still going to look back and be like, 'Wow, that season, we felt like we had a real chance, a real shot.' So I think part of me will always feel that. But at the same time, you can't dwell on it. You've got to understand that that chapter has closed and we're opening a new one.”

Rodriguez & Raleigh are on the same page

Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Julio Rodriguez agrees with Raleigh regarding the sting of Seattle's stunning elimination. The two team leaders have more than implied that the bad taste left in their mouths is something they are using to propel them in 2026.

“That's something that you kind of carry with you,” Rodríguez said. “It's just the experience, something that you now have. I feel like that's something that I carry with me, like the experience that I had in those [playoff] games. And I feel like it's going to help me to become a better player, and come with kind of like a little adjustment of mentality for this new year.

“The difference from my rookie year [in 2022] when we made it to the playoffs and this time, it felt like we were actually in it. It felt like we were actually a legit team, and that we had a shot to even win it all. And obviously, we know we were caught a little bit short."

"But I just feel like the experience side of it, you can't make it up. You've got to be there. You've got to be able to play those games -- and know you can't perform in those games. And I feel like everybody as a team definitely took the best out of it.”