All season long, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has struggled when asked to put into words his thoughts on the experience he has had in chasing records and passing greats in the process. His answers to the questions are often short and intended to prompt the next question, preferably one about the team.
A league of his own: Cal Raleigh makes history with ‘incredible feat’
After hitting home runs 48 and 49 on Sunday afternoon, putting him at the top of the list for home runs hit by a catcher in a single season in the history of the game, Raleigh tried once again when asked about the significance of having the words “all-time leader in the history of the game” now connected to his name.
“I can’t really wrap my head around it,” he answered in a walkoff interview on the Seattle Sports Mariners radio broadcast. “I never thought that would ever be possible or a real thing so I’m very blessed. A very cool moment today for me personally, but obviously happy we got the win today.”
The home runs were instrumental in the much-needed win, the Mariners having scuffled with eight losses in their last 10 games and falling to three games behind the division-leading Houston Astros. The feeling the night before was not good as the team lost in extra innings to the Athletics, falling to 1-8 against the the last nine left-handed starters they faced.
Saturday night, they had no answers for A’s lefty Jeffrey Springs, with Raleigh perhaps turning in some of the worst plate appearances, most notably in the sixth inning where Springs struck him out on four straight changeups.
On Sunday, however, Raleigh led the charge against another A’s lefty, Jacob Lopez, hitting his 48th home run 448 feet (the longest of career from the right side) to the second deck in left, then home run No. 49 off the out of town scoreboard in the second inning.
That both home runs were hit from the right side might just be icing on the cake. The right side had been an area of offseason focus for Raleigh, who slashed .181/.251/.444 for a .696 OPS right-handed in 2024. In ’25, his line is .282/.337/.693 for a 1.030 OPS.
For his efforts, the Mariners got the win, Raleigh got the record, and heading into play Monday finds himself tied with Yankees star Aaron Judge with an MLB-leading fWAR of 7.3.
As that number rises, the MVP conversation around Raleigh gets louder. While Judge’s slash line of .324/.439/.669 (1.108 OPS) is tremendous, and batting stats have historically carried the most weight in determining a MVP, the discussion around what Raleigh has done and his candidacy for the award is growing.
An immeasurable impact
In road cities, reporters are paying closer attention to Raleigh. Mariners manager Dan Wilson is getting questions about Raleigh from local writers at every stop. Some of these writers have MVP votes and are doing their homework, and it is good to see they are looking beyond who has the best hitting line.
It is likely Judge will finish with better offensive numbers than Raleigh, but is he most valuable to his team? In most years, the answer could be an easy yes. But with a catcher in the MVP race, that yes should not be easy. Not in terms of impact – valuable impact – to his team.
This hit me Sunday when, while sitting in the interview room three rows back while Raleigh took questions from the media, I noticed a bruise on one of his knuckles – just one of many marks he comes out of a game with. He also appeared to jam his glove thumb or perhaps wrist Sunday when he made an awkward stabbing grab across his body and into the ground to stop what otherwise would have been a wild pitch.
In the same game, I saw Raleigh take advantage of a batter timeout to twist and then stretch his back. I thought about the Mariners’ recent road trip and other games in heat. About how many times Raleigh has done an interview drenched in sweat, having been involved in every play while the team is on the field.
I also thought about a sight I saw last Tuesday before a game in Philadelphia while waiting to tape that week’s Cal Raleigh Show. I was in the dugout while Raleigh was on the warning track in left field, deep in conversation with Logan Gilbert, who was coming off the worst start of his career. They were out there for over a half-hour, and this conversation was not a one-off. I’ve seen it before with other pitchers.
Raleigh’s daily preparation is never just about him.
While it is impossible to quantify, it should not go unrecognized, and it would be hard to argue anyone has a greater value to a team than Raleigh. How much weight that will carry in MVP voting remains to be seen, but there is another area where he could have an edge. There is extra in setting records.
A historical season is hard to ignore, and in Raleigh’s case, there are eye-catching marks that remain in reach. Mickey Mantle’s record of 54 home runs in a season by a switch-hitter. Ken Griffey Jr’s. Mariners home run record of 56. And is 60 out of the question?
“He’s doing what no catcher has done before” are words we are hearing more frequently. And if Raleigh continues to follow this path to the end of the season, how it is weighed in awards season remains to be seen.
One thing is certain, however: Raleigh himself will be the last to think about it.
“The hardest part is just trying to stay focused on the main goal, and that’s winning baseball games and helping this team get to where we need to get to,” Raleigh said after Sunday’s game. “And obviously, doing this stuff has been awesome and amazing, but at the same time it’s more focusing on the other guys in that room, focusing on the pitchers, focusing on the team goals, rather than myself.”
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