Seattle.— The historic season of Cal Raleigh lived an unforgettable chapter this Sunday, when the catcher of the Seattle Mariners hit his home runs number 48 and 49 of the campaign in the 11-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics, surpassing the Venezuelan Salvador Pérez and establishing a new home run record for a starting catcher in a single season.
Raleigh, who has played more than 75% of his games as a catcher, left behind the mark of 48 home runs that Pérez had achieved in 2021, establishing himself as the regular catcher with the most home runs in the history of Major League Baseball.
The first home run came in the bottom of the first inning, when Raleigh punished a fastball from Jacob López at 91.7 mph and sent it 448 feet, his longest home run of the year, reaching the second floor of T-Mobile Park. In the second inning, he punished the same pitcher again, this time with a changeup that went 412 feet against the scoreboard in left field. Both hits were for two runs, giving the Mariners an early lead and backing the pitching work of Logan Gilbert.
"Once in a lifetime kind of stuff from Cal Raleigh!"
After his second home run, Raleigh received a standing ovation from the fans, who chanted “MVP” in reference to his potential candidacy for Most Valuable Player. With this performance, Raleigh has 39 home runs as a catcher and nine more as a designated hitter, reaffirming his position among the most powerful hitters of the season.
The next goal for Raleigh will be to approach the historical record of Mickey Mantle, who hit 54 home runs in 1961, the most for a switch hitter. In addition, Raleigh has already surpassed Ken Griffey Jr. (1997) as the player with the most multi-home run games in a season in Mariners history, with nine games of two or more home runs.
Despite an irregular second half of the season — batting just .202 with an OPS of .709 since the All-Star Game —, Raleigh’s power production keeps him as one of the protagonists of the MLB 2025 and a strong candidate for various individual awards.
Raleigh, who has played more than 75% of his games as a catcher, left behind the mark of 48 home runs that Pérez had achieved in 2021, establishing himself as the regular catcher with the most home runs in the history of Major League Baseball.
The first home run came in the bottom of the first inning, when Raleigh punished a fastball from Jacob López at 91.7 mph and sent it 448 feet, his longest home run of the year, reaching the second floor of T-Mobile Park. In the second inning, he punished the same pitcher again, this time with a changeup that went 412 feet against the scoreboard in left field. Both hits were for two runs, giving the Mariners an early lead and backing the pitching work of Logan Gilbert.
