MSNBC host learns about Cal Raleigh’s ‘Big Dumper’

If you weren’t aware of who Cal Raleigh is, you definitely weren’t aware of him being known as the “Big Dumper,” and MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski was baffled by the latter.

Raleigh enjoyed a historic first half of the season that has the Seattle Mariners catcher on pace to break the American League Home Run record. And Raleigh is now fresh off winning the 2025 MLB Home Run Derby Monday night. But there may be no more interesting fact about Raleigh than his nickname, the “Big Dumper.”

And the interest level in Raleigh’s nickname was on full display Tuesday morning during MSNBC’s Morning Joe, when Brzezinski didn’t seem to bat an eye at the Home Run Derby result, at least not until “Big Dumper caught her attention.

“You slipped in an early reference to the Big Dumper.” – Jonathan Lemire to Joe Scarborough

“What? Some people don’t know what that means.” – Mika Brzezinski pic.twitter.com/HJHOQIisBA

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 15, 2025

“Jonathan Lemire, we haven’t talked yet about the Home Run Derby last night,” said host Joe Scarborough, who sought to be on WFAN.

“You slipped in an early reference to the ‘Big Dumper,’” Lemire noted to draw a chuckle out of Brzezinski. “But now it is time to spend a little more with that.”

“What?” Brzezinski asked. “Some people don’t know what that means.”

“I’m getting there,” Lemire insisted. “Cal Raleigh…Seattle Mariners catcher. Good player until this year, where he’s become a superstar. He is indeed nicknamed the ‘Big Dumper,’ in part due to the size of his hindquarters, his teammates say. But he leads the league in home runs right now during the season, and last night, put on a show at the Home Run Derby in Atlanta, where he emerged victorious.”

The “Big Dumper” nickname isn’t just in part due to the size of his hindquarters. It is solely due to the size of his hindquarters. Raleigh admitted as much this week when he told David Ortiz, “It obviously comes from my butt. I’ve always had a large butt. It’s a blessing and a curse, I guess.”

Cal Raleigh on the ‘Big Dumper’ nickname: “It obviously comes from my butt. I’ve always had a large butt. It’s a blessing and a curse, I guess.”
byu/Goosedukee inbaseball

It’s a blessing because it gave Raleigh a nickname unique enough to garner solid national attention for a player in Seattle. But it might be a curse when that solid player turns into a superstar with record-breaking potential, and everyone is still focused on his big butt.