Here’s Why Cal Raleigh Had Winning MLB’s Home Run Derby And Waffle House On His Mind

Who knew?

Well, nobody did until this: Long before the end of Monday’ Home Run Derby in Atlanta, I discovered that part of the motivation for grabbing the silver trophy of 24 inches and 19 pounds for at least two of the eight participants was something that cost $12.35, and it sat two miles away from Truist Park.

The revelation surfaced when I huddled earlier in the day with Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood during an All-Star Weekend media event.

At the end of our conversation, I asked this 6-foot-7 owner of a meager salary of $764,600 this season (you know, compared to the record average payday among Major League players of $5.16 million) what he would do if he won the $1 million prize for slamming the most homers into the night?

“I’d probably go to Waffle House,” Wood said quickly, wondering why I chuckled along with others nearby.

The man was serious.

So was Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh who eventually banged 54 homers during the three rounds to grab, not only that silver trophy, but the gold medallion engraved with “Derby Champ” that now goes to the winner.

By the time Raleigh took the post-Derby podium with his father, Todd, who threw him pitches during the contest as his life-long instructor and former college baseball coach, and with his 15-year-old brother, Todd Raleigh Jr., who also is a switch-hitting catcher, my Waffle House-generated answer from Wood had traveled around the world.

It finally landed on the tongue of another reporter in the packed interview room at Truist Park, where the Raleighs sat across the way in anticipation of something more about the family’s love affair with baseball or maybe about Cal’s ability to stay in a dinger-launching groove for long stretches of the Derby.

Instead, that reporter asked this:

James Wood said if he won the $1 million, he was going to go to Waffle House. Do you have any plans to use that $1 million?

Cal Raleigh smiled, and then he said as quickly as Wood, “I mean, I love Waffle House. We grew up on it going to travel tournaments, so I might go there tonight. I’m getting very hungry, so . . . All-Star Special.”

In case you’re wondering, the All-Star Special features two scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast and jelly, a choice of grits, hashbrowns or sliced tomatoes, your choice of bacon, sausage or ham – oh, and a waffle, of course.

If Raleigh was thinking about the Waffle House within a five-minute drive from Truist Park, the whole meal actually costs $14.41 with taxes.

He can afford it. In his fifth Major League season, which has been prolific since he has 38 home runs at the All-Star Break to lead his peers, he is making $2.6 million.

So, by comparison to Raleigh, Wood really needed that Waffle House money.

But despite his 486-foot blast as the leadoff hitter during the 2025 Home Run Derby, he was eliminated early. In fact, six of his homers traveled more than 450 feet, and four had an exit velocity of 110 mph or better.

“I was tired,” Wood said afterward. “But it was a good experience, and I’m glad I did it.”

Then there was Raleigh, and the only thing nearly as sizzling as his bat was the weather with temperatures hovering around 90 degrees throughout much of the wind-free evening. In addition to the trophy and the chain, he ripped his way toward a couple of other things of note: (1) 18 homers during the final round to edge the 15 for Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays and (2) that $1 million check.

To keep the tears away, Andre Dawson laughed. Thirty-eight years ago, he won the third Home Run Derby in All-Star Weekend history with (wait for it) four home runs at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

“It was a whole different format back then,” Dawson told me, recalling when the event was two innings with five outs for two participants from the National League and two more from the American League. There are now four players representing each league, and they compete over multiple innings with time limits, timeouts, bonus periods and all that money.

And how much did Dawson receive as that 1987 Home Run Derby champion along his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame?

“Nothing,” said Dawson, still laughing.

Baseball didn’t start its $1 million payday for the Home Run Derby champion until 2019. Now MLB even compensates the runner-up ($500,000), the other seven participants ($150,000) and the hitter with the longest homer ($100,000.)

Unlike Dawson’s title, which came 11 years before ESPN began turning the Home Run Derby into a yearly live television event, it has become more than just a warmup act for baseball’s All-Star Game the next day.

Both the All-Star Game and the Home Run Derby were sold out this year, and according to Ticketmaster, the cheapest ticket for the Home Run Derby before Monday’s first swing ($249) was more expensive than the cheapest ticket for Tuesday’s All-Star Game ($221).

Just think of how many All-Star Specials you can buy with that money.

I’m sure James Wood is thinking about it.

And Raleigh, for that matter.