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Highland's Luke Raley, Walsh Jesuit's Dominic Canzone amped to return to Progressive Field
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- Highland's Luke Raley, Walsh Jesuit's Dominic Canzone amped to return to Progressive Field
There's a homecoming at Progressive Field on Tuesday, and 2013 Highland graduate Luke Raley and 2016 Walsh Jesuit graduate Dominic Canzone can't wait to play the Guardians .
Both corner outfielders are members of the American League West-leading Seattle Mariners and will be coming to Cleveland for a three-game series against the AL Central-leading Guardians.
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It will be the second time Raley, 29, has played at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, while it's the first trip back for Canzone, 26.
Mariners left fielder Luke Raley (20) and center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) and right fielder Dominic Canzone (8) celebrate after a win at Yankee Stadium, May 20, 2024, in Bronx, New York.
"Last year was a little bit overwhelming just because there was so many people and I wanted to make sure I got to say hello to everybody," Raley said. "This year I'm really wanting to enjoy being at home for the three or four days where I can just relax a little bit and do exactly what I want to do when I'm there. I definitely have a different approach to it."
It's been so hectic for the two Northeast Ohio standouts that Raley, who is a Hinckley native, has allocated ticket responsibilities to his wife. Canzone, whose family lives in Seven Hills, has asked his girlfriend to help out.
Highland graduate Luke Raley is excited to return to Progressive Field this week to play the Guardians as a member of the Seattle Mariners along with teammate and Walsh Jesuit graduate Dominic Canzone.
"I've actually never played in Progressive Field, so I'm pretty excited about that," Canzone said. "I've had so many people reach out. … I'm looking forward to seeing everybody pregame. It's going to be a lot."
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Luke Raley , Dominic Canzone mirror each other for Seattle Mariners
The similarities between Raley and Canzone are almost unbelievable.
The families live less than 12 miles from each other in Ohio.
Canzone came to the M's in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks last July . Raley arrived in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in late December .
Mariners left fielder Dominic Canzone (8) waits for a pitch during an at-bat against the Red Sox, March 29, 2024, in Seattle.
When Canzone got hurt, Raley took his spot in left field.
Now that both are healthy, Canzone will sometimes move to right or Raley will get a start at first base when they're both in the lineup.
Both bat left-handed but throw right.
Mariners left fielder Luke Raley (20) during an at-bat against the A's, May 10, 2024, in Seattle.
"We spend a lot of time together because we're both corner outfielders, so when we do our defensive drills and all that stuff. He's a really good kid," Raley said. "I enjoy being his teammate. He's definitely a character for sure, so being around him is fun.
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"I've talked to him a lot about having him come train with me in the offseason where I work out at T3 Performance in Avon. I think I've kind of got him on board with that, which is great because it gives me somebody to hit with. We can work out together and push each other."
Being more than 2,400 miles away from home can be difficult, so having each other around in the clubhouse is great.
Mariners outfielder Dominic Canzone celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Blue Jays during the seventh inning, April 9, 2024, in Toronto.
"There's not too many Cleveland guys out here, so it's definitely nice to be able to play with someone from Cleveland and have those similarities, but I feel like I've just been able to learn a lot from him in the way that he approaches the game because he's been around for a while," Canzone said. "He's been with a lot of great organizations like the Dodgers and Rays. He has been with a lot of great players, so he's learned from them, and just being able to take bits and pieces of what he's got for the game has been huge for me, especially with our play styles, both being left-handed corner outfielders.
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"So we talked through a lot of things and we both kind of help each other along the way. I think it's helped us both."
Dominic Canzone, Luke Raley amped to show off Seattle Mariners to Cleveland
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) and left fielder Dominic Canzone (8) celebrates after Canzone hit a three-run home run against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday in Seattle, Wash.
What the two can't wait for most is to show off their Seattle team.
The Mariners come in 43-31 and are 8.5 games ahead of the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers in the West. The Mariners swept the Rangers this past weekend and it's their largest division lead since the end of the 2001 season.
The Guardians are 44-25 and have an 4.5-game lead over the Kansas City Royals in the Central.
Mariners left fielder Luke Raley celebrates after scoring the game-winning run against the White Sox during the 10th inning, June 12, 2024, in Seattle.
After a slow start, Raley comes to Cleveland batting .254 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs. Raley leads the team with a .424 slugging percentage.
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Canzone, who has fond memories of being at Game 7 of the 2016 World Series in Cleveland, is hitting .211 with six home runs and 12 RBIs. Canzone's .435 slugging percentage would lead the team if he had enough at-bats to qualify, but missed a month with a shoulder injury after crashing into a wall April 14.
Mariners outfielder Dominic Canzone looks on during the first inning against the Orioles, May 19, 2024, in Baltimore.
"It's a really fun team to play on in the sense of there's never any panic," Raley said. "We kind of are the team that we can be down 4-0 going into the eighth inning or whatever the situation may be and still feel like we're going to win. You just go to the park thinking we have a good chance to win today, so it's just fun being in that mindset all the time."
Both plan on spending as much time as they can at home before coming to the park where they hope to spoil the hometown team's fun.
Mariners left fielder Luke Raley runs the bases after hitting a home run against the White Sox during the seventh inning, June 12, 2024, in Seattle.
"It's awesome just because we battle as an offense and obviously our pitching is probably the best in the league, top to bottom," Canzone said. "We don't even have all our guys. We're a little bit banged up on that side of the ball and the guys that are coming up and up, they're giving us great outings.
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"Every single day we feel like we have a chance to win no matter who's on the mound because it feels like we have an ace out there every single day."
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
Mariners left fielder Luke Raley celebrates with the trident in the dugout after his solo home run against the Angels during the sixth inning, June 1, 2024, in Seattle.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: MLB: Two Greater Akron baseball stars return to Cleveland as Mariners
