How Mariners slugging star Cal Raleigh is threatening a historic season

Last season was a special one for Cal Raleigh, as he earned the first Gold and Platinum Gloves of his career and set the record for the most home runs by a catcher in their first four Major League years, passing Hall of Famer Mike Piazza.

With the way he's started this season, he might well be on course to once again put his name in the MLB record books come the conclusion of the 2025 campaign.

There are still those who question if Raleigh is the best all-around catcher in the game, but receiving a first All-Star selection would help the cause. Add in a home run assault on some of MLB's all-time great switch-hitting sluggers, and he might (finally) remove all remaining doubt about his standing in baseball:

The three switch-hitters in question are Mickey Mantle, Lance Berkman, and Chipper Jones. Mantle achieved it twice with 52 in 1956 and then 54 in 1961, while Berkman hit 45 in 2006 and Jones had 45 in 1999.

Cal Raleigh is king of the hill in the majors

Ahead of Tuesday's game against the Athletics in Sacramento — it just doesn't sound right, does it? — Raleigh is leading the majors with 12 home runs, one ahead of Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber. At his current pace, the 28-year-old is projected to finish the season with a career-high 57 homers, which would of course put him in a special place ahead of Mantle.

Achieving this would also see Raleigh break Salvador Perez's record for homers in a season by a primary catcher, which stands at 48. Perez accomplished this feat recently in 2021, and it stands as one of eight times a Major League catcher has reached the 40-homer plateau in a season.

We do acknowledge there are those who will question if Raleigh can maintain his current pace throughout the 2025 season. However, there are enough reasons to believe in his quest, and not just because he now also uses a torpedo bat from the left side.

Mariners' main man hitting better than ever

The Mariners' clubhouse leader has seen his home runs (and RBI) improve each year he has been in the majors. This alludes to him continuing to work on his game, grow, and become even more comfortable at the plate.

This is backed up by how a career .218 hitter with a .740 OPS entering this season is now better than ever at the plate, with a .240 batting average and .933 OPS at the time of writing. You also only have to take one look at Raleigh's Baseball Savant page for more evidence of his success, highlighted by a barrel rate in the 99th percentile and an overall Batting Run Value in the 96th percentile.

There's also the fact that the 2018 third-round draft pick just doesn't like to take any days off, no matter how much the Mariners coaching staff try to convince him otherwise. Then, even when they do manage to persuade him to take a day off from catching, he still also gets regular reps at DH.

There's still a long way to go this season, with the Mariners also being more aware than anyone of how injuries can crop up and derail plans. But in Raleigh, they have one of the most durable players in baseball. He's almost reached a zen-like state with his hitting after signing his long-term extension and all signs are pointing towards a special, record-breaking year in Seattle.

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