With the Seattle Mariners sweeping the Houston Astros with the help of Cal Raleigh, there is no denying how legendary and historic the season the catcher is currently having. As Raleigh continues to break records with the Mariners, MLB insider Jeff Passan would give the catcher major credit in his latest column.
Passan would release his latest ESPN piece, giving out season awards to different players, with Raleigh taking the top award, which was titled “Badonkadonk of the Year.” As of Tuesday, Raleigh has hit a league-best 58 home runs to go along with 121 RBIs, while sporting a .247 batting average.
“Ball knowers understood who Raleigh was entering the 2025 season: the best catcher in MLB, a switch-hitting, Platinum Glove-winning, home-run-punishing hero with the most appropriate (and inappropriate) nickname in baseball — the Big Dumper, for his lower half putting the maximus in gluteus,” Passan wrote.
“This, though?” Passan continued. “A superstar turn in which the Seattle Mariners' best player passes Hall of Famers such as Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr. in the record books? A season-long run in which he keeps pace with Aaron Judge, the best hitter in the world, still at the peak of his powers, in the American League MVP race? A legitimate shot at becoming only the seventh player in MLB history to hit 60 or more home runs in a season.”
Jeff Passan further explains the historic season of Mariners' Cal Raleigh
While the Mariners star is in contention with New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge for the American League (AL) MVP, Passan puts into perspective how impressive the season has been for the 28-year-old. For playing such a grueling position like catcher and performing the way he's doing offensively with his power, it's been rarely seen in the MLB.
“Of course, just maintaining his status quo is actually a pretty good case for Judge, considering his OPS exceeds Raleigh's by nearly 175 points,” Passan continued. “But that's for MVP voters to decide. The case of the best badonkadonk is open and shut. From the city that gave the world Sir Mix-A-Lot comes version 2.0: bigger, better, dumpier.”
Before Raleigh, the most home runs by a catcher in a season was Kansas City Royals slugger Salvador Perez, who got the record in 2021 with 48, beating icon Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds, who had 45 in 1970. Compared to Perez, Raleigh has 10 more and could reach 60 with six games left.
