Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who hit 60 home runs last year, has gone from Big Dumper to Big Slumper in 2026. At the conclusion of Monday night’s game, he was mired in an 0-for-36 funk dating back to April 27 and was slashing .157/.238/.320 on the season — rough numbers for anyone, but especially for last year’s American League MVP runner-up.
But after going 0-for-2 with a walk in his first plate appearances in last night’s game against the Astros, Raleigh finally broke through with base hits in his final two turns at bat. And it turns out that he did with the aid of an unusual slump-buster move.
In a postgame interview last night, Raleigh revealed that teammate Logan Gilbert had convinced him to shower in full uniform after Monday night’s game. Per Raleigh, “Logan gave me some good advice to wash off the bad mojo or juju from the baseball gods. So yeah, it worked. He was right, so I got to give him credit where credit’s due.”
I’ve heard of lots of uni-related superstitions over the years, but I think this is the first time I’ve heard of a player showering while in uniform. Insert wisecrack about Nike’s moisture-wicking fabric here.
Unfortunately, nobody seems to have photographed or videotaped Raleigh’s uni-clad turn in the shower stall. But MLBers are notorious copycats when it comes to superstitions, so it wouldn’t surprise me if other slumping ballplayers try this same maneuver. Stay tuned.
Update: Reader/commenters Allan Labanowski and Rich have pointed out that former NBAer Charles Barkley claims to have showered in his uniform — not as a superstation but as a way of laundering the uni. His fellow TV panelists were dubious of the story’s veracity, however: