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Mariners’ Current Home Run Leader Is Making Old Doubts Harder To Defend
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Mariners’ Current Home Run Leader Is Making Old Doubts Harder To Defend

Seattle Mariners On SI·Tremayne Person·19 days ago
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There is a funny thing that happens when a player becomes more useful than the scouting report we keep trying to staple to him. At first, we call it a hot stretch. Then we call it a nice surprise. Then, if the production keeps showing up, we eventually have to stop hedging and call it what it is. Luke Raley has become one of the few Mariners bats opponents actually have to account for right now. And if that still feels a little uncomfortable to say, that is kind of the point. Raley is Seattle’s home run leader, with nine homers and 24 RBIs through the Mariners’ first 44 games. And yet, because it is Raley, the conversation still carries this weird wait-for-it-to-fall-apart energy. We get it. Kind of. Mariners fans aren’t exactly conditioned to trust unexpected offense. This fanbase has seen too many mirages, and too many bats turn back into pumpkins after a power display. But there comes a point where skepticism has to keep up with the evidence. Raley’s May 8 eruption against the White Sox was not subtle.…

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