Cal Raleigh to play for US in World Baseball Classic, joining Judge, Skenes and Witt
USA Baseball announced the decision Monday before Raleigh participated in the All-Star Home Run Derby. The 28-year-old entered the All-Star break leading the major leagues with 38 homers and 82 RBIs.
The 20-nation WBC will be played from March 5-17. Japan is defending champion.
Also Monday, the World Baseball Softball Confederation said the baseball tournament at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be played from July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium. MLB is considering whether it can interrupt its 2028 season to allow major leagues to participate.
There will be two groups of three teams during a preliminary round over three days, with two games per day. The group winners advance to the semifinals, while the other teams compete in a pair of quarterfinals. Semifinals will be played July 19, and gold and bronze medal games the next day.
The softball tournament will be played from July 23-29 at OKC Softball Park in Oklahoma City. A five-day round-robin will be played on July 28 followed by the gold medal game the next day.
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10 minutes ago
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Cal Raleigh wins 2025 MLB Home Run Derby: Highlights from Atlanta slugfest
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ATLANTA ALL-STAR GAME: The Battery is the envy of sports – but ballpark village isn't all peachy Advertisement But Raleigh's night almost ended early, advancing out of the first round by less than one inch. Raleigh and Brent Rooker had finished tied for fourth with 17 homers, with the tiebreaker being their longest home run. That looked tied as well with MLB's live tracker showing both at 471 feet, but Raleigh's 470.61-foot homer (literally) inched out Rooker's 470.53-foot shot. "My goodness gracious, it's close. It's just crazy," Raleigh said after his win. "An inch off, and I'm not even in the final four. Just amazing. "I guess I got lucky there. One extra biscuit." Then, Raleigh came alive in the semifinals, slugging 19 homers to easily defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz. Cruz had brought the crowd to its feet in the first round, crushing a 513-foot blast – the longest of the night – for the eighth of his 21 home runs. Advertisement "To do it as a family was really special," Cal's dad Todd Raleigh said after the Derby. "I don't know why we've been blessed like this ... When it involved the family, the complexion changed. And we thought, if he doesn't hit any home runs, we're still gonna be good." Asked how his son became a switch-hitter, Todd didn't skip a beat. "Did it from the first day, when he was in diapers, literally," Todd said. "And I would take that big ball and he had a big red bat. I'd throw it slow and he'd hit it. Then I'd say stay there, pick him up, turn him around, switch his hands and do it again." Byron Buxton, who hit 20 in the first round, fell to Caminero in the other semifinal. Advertisement Also eliminated in the first round were the Washington Nationals' James Wood (16 HR), hometown favorite Matt Olson (15) and New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm (3). Here's how the night unfolded at Truist Park: Home Run Derby final: Cal Raleigh beats Junior Caminero The final is set with Cal Raleigh facing Junior Caminero. Raleigh led off in the final and had a blast, slugging 18 home runs – which is going to be a tough number for Caminero to beat. Caminero pepped the right field seats with homers and ended regulation with 14, setting up a dramatic bonus period where he needed four to tie Raleigh. Caminero only managed one, making Raleigh the 2025 champion. Cal Raleigh defeats Oneil Cruz After getting into the semifinals by a literal Big Dumper came alive in the semifinal with 19 home runs. Cruz crushed it in the first round, but came up short in the semifinals with 13 homers to end his night. Junior Caminero defeats Byron Buxton Buxton hit seven home runs in his semifinal round, unable to find the late burst that powered him out of the first round. Caminero walked it off with his eighth home run, advancing to the final where he will face Cal Raleigh or Oneil Cruz. Home Run Derby semifinals set It'll be Byron Buxton vs. Junior Caminero and Oneil Cruz vs. Cal Raleigh in the knockout stage, with the winners advancing to the final. Home Run Derby score sheet: Live stats from first round * Advances to semifinals // ^ Eliminated Cal Raleigh, Mariners — 17 HR * James Wood, Nationals — 16 HR ^ Junior Caminero, Rays — 21 HR * Byron Buxton, Twins — 20 HR * Brent Rooker, Athletics — 17 HR ^ Matt Olson, Braves — 15 HR ^ Jazz Chisholm, Yankees — 3 HR ^ Oneil Cruz, Pirates — 21 HR * Cal Raleigh advances to semifinals by matter of inches With only one spot left in the semifinals Cal Raleigh and Brent Rooker each finished the first round with 17 home runs. The tiebreaker was longest home run distance, which appeared tied initially. But Raleigh's longest went 470.61 feet while Rooker's traveled 470.53 – a tie broken by 0.08 feet. Advertisement Hometown hero Matt Olson comes up short With the Truist Field fans behind him, the Braves' first baseman locked in and finished regular time with 15 home runs – but failed to hit another in bonus time to force his way into the semifinaks. Cal Raleigh switches it up, hits 17 With his dad pitching and brother catching, Raleigh started the round batting left-handed, flipped coming out of a timeout – and then went back to the left side for the bonus time. Delivered in the clutch, tying him with Brent Rooker for fourth place with 17. Jazz Chisholm Jr. turns in ugly performance The Yankees infielder was booed after his round, hitting just three home runs to ensure a quick elimination. Chisholm struggled mightily, fouling a number of swings straight back into the stands. Byron Buxton puts himself in position with 20 HR The Minnesota Twins' Georgia native hit 20 home runs in his round, the longest traveling 466 feet. 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And catching is Todd 'T' Raleigh, Raleigh's 15-year-old brother whose games he tries to attend when his Seattle Mariners travels take him to back to the Deep South, who dons the hand-me-down cleats big brother bequeaths. – Gabe Lacques Home Run Derby odds Odds via BetMGM as of 12 p.m. Advertisement Cal Raleigh : +280 Oneil Cruz: +350 James Wood : +400 Matt Olson : +900 Brent Rooker : +900 Byron Buxton : +950 Junior Caminero : +1000 Jazz Chisholm Jr.: +1500 Home Run Derby rules, new format The 2025 Home Run Derby features three rounds: the first round, semifinals and finals. In the first round, the hitters have three minutes or 40 pitches (whichever comes first) to hit as many home runs as they can. Each player gets a bonus period that lasts until they take three swings that don't result in a homer. If a home run of 425 feet or longer is hit during the bonus time, the hitter gets a fourthout The four players with the highest totals advance to the semifinals – with first-round ties being broken by the player who hit the longest home run in their round. Advertisement The semifinals becomes a knockout format, with players seeded Nos. 1-4 based on their first-round totals. Players have two minutes or 27 pitches in the semifinals and finals. Ties in the semifinal are broken by a 60-second "swing-off." Each batter gets one 45-second timeout – but timeouts be called during bonus periods or tiebreakers. Who won last year's Home Run Derby? Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez was crowned 2024 Home Run Derby champion after defeating Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in the finals. Hernandez slugged 14 homers in the final round, one more than Witt, to become the first Dodgers player to win the Derby title. Advertisement MLB Home Run Derby winners by year 1985 : Dave Parker, Reds 1986 : Wally Joyner, Angels & Darryl Strawberry, Mets 1987 : Andre Dawson, Cubs 1988 : Not held 1989 : Eric Davis, Reds & Ruben Sierra, Rangers 1990 : Ryne Sandberg, Cubs 1991 : Cal Ripken Jr., Orioles 1992 : Mark McGwire, Athletics 1993 : Juan Gonzalez, Rangers 1994 : Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners 1995 : Frank Thomas, White Sox 1996 : Barry Bonds, Giants 1997 : Tino Martinez, Yankees 1998 : Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners 1999 : Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners 2000 : Sammy Sosa, Cubs 2001 : Luis Gonzalez, Diamondbacks 2002 : Jason Giambi, Yankees 2003 : Garret Anderson, Angels 2004 : Miguel Tejada, Orioles 2005 : Bobby Abreu, Phillies 2006 : Ryan Howard, Phillies 2007 : Vladimir Guerrero, Angels 2008 : Justin Morneau, Twins 2009 : Prince Fielder, Brewers 2010 : David Ortiz, Red Sox 2011 : Robinson Cano, Yankees 2012 : Prince Fielder, Tigers 2013 : Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics 2014 : Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics 2015 : Todd Frazier, Reds 2016 : Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 2017 : Aaron Judge, Yankees 2018 : Bryce Harper, Nationals 2019 : Pete Alonso, Mets 2020 : Not held (COVID) 2021 : Pete Alonso, Mets 2022 : Juan Soto, Nationals 2023 : Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays 2024: Teoscar Hernandez, Dodgers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who won Home Run Derby? 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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
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Thornton and the Valkyries take on conference foe Seattle
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