The spectacular 2025 MLB regular season of Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh keeps on getting better. On Sunday, the switch-hitting Raleigh slammed not just one but two home runs in the series finale against the Athletics at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
He hit his first home run in the first inning off A's starter Jacob Lopez to send Randy Arozarena and himself home and give the Mariners the early 2-0 lead. He punished Lopez again in the second inning for another two-run tater that, again, drove Arozarena to home plate, stretching the Mariners' lead to five (5-1).
With those home runs, Raleigh tied and then broke Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez's record for most dingers in a season by a catcher. Perez had 48 home runs in 2021, while Raleigh now has 49 to his name.
Raleigh had a curtain call after his second home run versus the Athletics.
Seattle manager Dan Wilson, however, had a minor complaint about the historic scene, and that's Raleigh not cherishing the moment on the field longer, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).
“What an incredible feat,” Wilson shared. “I don't know that you can fathom how big that is when you look at some of the people he's passed and just what the magnitude of that record is.”
Raleigh needed just two pitches in the first at-bat against Lopez to launch a monster 448-foot home run off a 91 mph four-seam fastball. That was the longest home run he's hit so far in his career when batting right-handed. In the second inning, he launched a 412-foot home run on the first pitch he saw, which was an 83 mph changeup from the left-handed Lopez.
Another record broken by Raleigh in the Mariners' 11-4 win over the Athletics was that of New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle for most multi-home run games in a season by a switch-hitter. Mantle had eight such performances in 1961, when The Mick also had 54 homers.
So far in the 2025 MLB season, the 28-year-old Raleigh is batting .247/.353/.593 with 106RBIs and 19 doubles through 128 games.
As for Seattle, it improved to 70-61, and, with the loss of the Houston Astros to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, is now behind by just two games off the top spot in the American League West division.
