SEATTLE -- Cal Raleigh hadn’t even exited his car when the commotion began.

Just after shifting into park, the Mariners’ catcher made eye contact with the driver to his left -- a teenager who immediately recognized him, widened her eyes and covered her mouth before pointing at him in disbelief. It was the first of countless encounters during this specific shopping excursion, the setting of which was perhaps just as surreal as the blossoming celebrity himself.

Raleigh was at a Costco in the deep suburbs of Seattle, about 25 miles from T-Mobile Park, and shopping for items for the home he’d just purchased in the wake of signing a six-year, $105 million extension before Opening Day.

The property was an investment -- not for how real estate has skyrocketed in the Puget Sound region over

See Full Page