We knew Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh had been playing with a nagging left thumb injury for a while, first injuring it sliding into first base during a game in early September. But after the Mariners’ playoff-ending loss to Houston, the extend of the damage was revealed.
Raleigh said after the game he has torn ligaments in his left thumb and a piece of bone chipped off. He said he’ll see a specialist in a few days to determine a course of action for recovery.
What will also need a little time to heal are his legs after Raleigh caught all 18 innings and 234 pitches.
“The job that our catcher did, I can’t say enough,” manager Scott Servais said postgame. “The game-calling, the game management, working through it with what George [Kirby] had and all those relievers and not backing off. You couldn’t have executed a game plan any better than we did tonight.
“I say all that and Cal Raleigh is playing out there with a thumb that is barely hanging on,” he continued. “He’s really banged up, and he would not pull himself out of the lineup. He was going to hang in there … the guy behind the plate deserves a ton of credit with what we saw tonight.”
Raleigh said he’d never caught that many innings before.
Raleigh said his legs actually felt fine as he stood talking to reporters late.
“But I’m sure they will be a little tired later,’’ he said.