Leggett was not only tuned in this postseason as Seattle made a run to the ALCS but he also made a trip to the Emerald City for a divisional series with Detroit. The old Tigers coach stayed at Cal’s house as the Mariners played the other Tigers.
Periodically, Leggett will text Raleigh the number “220,” which is etched in white on Cal’s otherwise green-tinted catcher’s mitt.
“You just need to be a little more aggressive, a little bit more leadership, have a little more bounce in your step,” Leggett told Raleigh while he was playing at FSU.
If Raleigh stuck his fingers into a wall socket, there would be 110 volts of electricity.
“But you need to play at 220,” Leggett added.
Raleigh took lessons from a coach who was never truly his because that’s how deep of a bond his father and uncle had with Leggett.
The Maine native not only coached Todd and Matt at WCU but also recruited the Raleighs’ older brother, John, when he was the top pitcher in Vermont and Leggett was the coach at UVM. In fact, Leggett first met Todd and Matt while visiting John, who died of lymphoma at 19 years old, in the hospital.
John enrolled at Central Florida to play ball, but Leggett held no ill will.
“We were drawn to Coach Leggett because of what he did for our family when he didn’t have to do it,” Todd recently told a film crew for the “Home of Raleigh” documentary. “Most people lose recruits, they don’t come back around.
“My parents must have known that. I must have somehow known it, because it seemed like (playing for Leggett) was the only choice.”
This was pre-internet, so there wasn’t much opportunity to research baseball programs and send emails to coaches. Todd, who just knew he wanted to head south to play, would have mailed Leggett a handwritten letter asking for an opportunity.
Leggett will always remember watching a grainy video of Todd and Matt playing high school ball in Swanton, Vermont. “It looked like it was a field of deer,” he said, “and there were two moose on it.”