A little more than six months ago, catcher Cal Raleigh sat in an interview room at T-Mobile Park to discuss the six-year, $105 million contract extension he signed with the Seattle Mariners.

Cal Raleigh won the Baseball Digest/Inside Edge major league player of the year award Friday, narrowly beating out Aaron Judge. The switch-hitting catcher from the Seattle Mariners, who became the seventh player to hit 60 home runs in a season,