Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has had an outstanding season by any measure. That season got even more memorable on Sunday, when Raleigh blasted his 49th home run of the campaign. He is now the only catcher in Major League Baseball history to hit 49 homers in a single season, per the team's social media.
Cal Raleigh stands alone!
Big Dumper is the first catcher in @MLB history to reach 49 home runs in a single season. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/jVllJypOGr
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 24, 2025
Raleigh has now passed Salvador Perez, who hit 48 home runs in the 2021 season for the Kansas City Royals. The Mariners catcher actually hit two home runs Sunday, first tying and then breaking Perez's record.
The home runs came in the first two innings of a game Sunday between the Mariners and Athletics. Raleigh's hits broke open the game for Seattle.
Cal Raleigh is putting himself in elite company
Raleigh's home run production is nearly unparalleled from other catchers. Only four other players in big league history have hit at least 40 homers in a season while primarily playing catcher, per ESPN. They are: Johnny Bench, Todd Hundley, Mike Piazza and Roy Campanella. All of those players except Hundley are in the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame.
Raleigh is the shining star for a Mariners team trying to win the American League West. Seattle is 69-61 on the season, heading into Sunday's game with the Athletics. Seattle trails the Houston Astros in the AL West.
The Mariners slugger is hitting .246 this season, to go with his 49 home runs. He also has driven in 106 runs. He is the first catcher with consecutive seasons of 100 RBIs since Piazza did it from 1996-2000, per ESPN.
Mariners fans hope their star is able to keep swinging this season, all the way to a World Series.
