For Mariners fans — what a ride it’s been. If you’re not already paying attention to what Cal Raleigh is doing, you’d better start now, because the big man behind the plate is rewriting history — and he’s doing it with a crack of the bat so loud, it’s echoing through the annals of baseball greatness.
50 Home Runs and a Place in Catcher History
Let’s set the scene: Back in August, JP Sears fires a fastball, and boom — Raleigh crushes it. That one swing didn’t just clear the wall — it cleared the record books, making Cal the first catcher in MLB history to hit 50 homers in a season. That’s right. No catcher had ever done it before. And the guy didn’t just stop to admire his work — he kept going.
Goodbye Mantle, Hello Cal Raleigh
Fast forward to Tuesday night. Third inning. Michael Wacha on the mound. Raleigh steps in, batting lefty — and just obliterates a curveball. We’re talking 419 feet into the right-field stands. That’s not just a home run. That’s history. That one broke Mickey Mantle’s single-season record for most home runs by a switch-hitter.
But wait — he’s not done. Later in the game, Raleigh flips the switch — literally — and steps in as a righty. Reliever Daniel Lynch IV throws a 2-2 pitch, and Raleigh murders it. A 425-foot rocket to center field. Two-run shot. Tie game. But more importantly, that bomb ties Ken Griffey Jr. for the most home runs in a single season in Mariners franchise history. Let that sink in. Cal Raleigh is now sitting next to The Kid on the Mariners’ all-time leaderboard. That’s sacred ground.
From Clubhouse Leader to MVP Contender
And while all this is going on, let’s not forget what’s happening in the standings. The Mariners, once lagging, are now clawing their way back to the top of the AL West, edging out the Astros and putting real pressure on the rest of the league. And the man in the middle of it all? Cal Raleigh. Every swing of his bat is shifting the tide of the postseason race.
Now, in any normal year, this kind of season — this kind of clutch, record-smashing, team-lifting brilliance — would make Raleigh a lock for AL MVP. But then there’s Aaron Judge — having another monster season in the Bronx, playing like a video game character on cheat mode. So yeah, Cal might end up the runner-up.
But don’t let that fool you. What Raleigh is doing right now is historic. It’s electric. And it’s the kind of story Mariners fans — and baseball fans — are going to be telling for a long time.
