Cal Raleigh’s historic 2025 season has seen him reach the 50-home run threshold, marking the most homers in a season by a primary catcher in MLB history. He has also become the first player in MLB history to hit at least 20 home runs from each side of the plate in one season.
Raleigh stands alone with both the MLB’s single-season record for a switch-hitter and the Seattle Mariners’ single-season franchise record, having hit both milestones in September.
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And the catcher is still going. Raleigh hit home run No. 58 on Sunday against the Houston Astros, sending a two-run blast into deep right field.
Raleigh is now only four homers from the AL single-season record of 62 home runs, set by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge in 2022.
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How Raleigh got here
The Mariners catcher’s road to home run history began on the final day of March, with his first dinger of the season, and he has continued the power surge ever since. Raleigh has hit blasts in consecutive games eight times and recorded 10 multi-homer games this season.
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In addition to threatening Judge’s record, “Big Dumper” has already passed Mickey Mantle for most homers by a switch hitter, and adds on the Mariners’ franchise record as well.
As Raleigh approaches more history in his MVP-worthy season, we are tracking his notable 2025 home runs all the way through Game 162.
MARCH
Home runs hit: 1
March 31: Raleigh opened his 2025 home run account in the Mariners’ fifth game of the season, a 9-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers. His 358-foot blast came six days after he signed a six-year, $105 million extension.
APRIL
Home runs hit: 9
April 11: The history-making started early for Raleigh. During the Mariners’ 14th game, he launched his third blast of the season off Texas Rangers pitcher Chris Martin and set the franchise record for career home runs by a catcher with his 96th.
MAY
Home runs hit: 12
May 2: Raleigh’s first grand slam of the season came on a two-homer, five-RBI night in a 13-1 rout of Jack Leiter and the Rangers.
May 27: Raleigh’s third multi-home-run game of the season put his total up to 19 on the year and set an MLB record for home runs by a catcher in a team’s first 53 games of a season. Both dingers came against Washington Nationals pitcher Mitchell Parker.
May 30: Raleigh became the first catcher in MLB history with 20 home runs before the end of May with another multi-blast night that saw him knock in five runs in a 12-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
JUNE
Home runs hit: 11
June 20: A prolific May continued into June for Raleigh, as he reached double-digit home runs again and set the MLB record for homers by a catcher before the All-Star break with his 29th of the season at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs.
June 21: Still at Wrigley one day later, Raleigh hit No. 30 to become the first switch-hitter in MLB history to do so before the All-Star break, moving ahead of of Mickey Mantle, José RamÃrez and Lance Berkman. He also became the first player to hit 30 home runs in his team’s first 75 games since 2001, when Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez achieved that feat.
Cal Raleigh’s historic season with the Seattle Mariners has featured him winning the Home Run Derby and becoming the first MLB player to reach 50 home runs. (Photo by Gene Wang, Capture At Media/Getty Images)
(Gene Wang – Capture At Media via Getty Images)JULY
Home runs hit: 9
July 14: By the time the baseball world descended on Atlanta for the All-Star Game, Raleigh had 38 home runs. He brought his power to Georgia, where he became the first catcher to win the Home Run Derby, edging Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero in the final. Raleigh is the second Mariner to win the event, joining Griffey, who won the Derby three times. Raleigh is also the first switch-hitter to win the Derby outright, as Rubén Sierra, the only other switch-hitter to win, shared the title in 1998.
July 26: Nearly two weeks after Raleigh’s Derby win, he hit No. 40 to become the seventh catcher in MLB history to post a 40-homer season, joining Salvador Perez, Johnny Bench, Javy López, Todd Hundley, Roy Campanella and Mike Piazza. It was the 133rd blast of Raleigh’s career, putting him ahead of Ken Griffey Jr. for the most by a Mariner in his first five MLB seasons.
AUGUST
Home runs hit: 8
Aug. 15: Homer No. 46 was launched during a win over the New York Mets that also saw Raleigh reach 100 RBI on the season. That matched his career high, set in 2024, and made Raleigh the first catcher since Mike Piazza in 1999 and 2000 with 100 RBI in consecutive seasons while playing at least 50% of his games behind the plate.
Aug. 24: An 11-4 win over the Athletics delivered yet another multi-homer game from Raleigh — one that saw him tie and then break the MLB record for home runs hit by a catcher in a single season when he hit Nos. 48 and 49 to leapfrog Salvador Perez.
Aug. 25: Raleigh reached 50 home runs before any other MLB player this season, getting there with a first-inning dinger during a win over the San Diego Padres. He is the only primary catcher to ever hit 50 blasts in a single season.
September
Home runs hit: 7 (and counting)
Sept. 2: Raleigh hit his first homer of September in a 6-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen left a 96 mph fastball high and over the middle of the plate, and Raleigh launched it into the right-field stands at Steinbrenner Field.
Sept. 14: After a one-week home run drought, Raleigh hit his 54th home run of the season to tie Mickey Mantle for the most home runs by a switch-hitter in a single season.
Sept. 16: Raleigh hit two milestones with a two-homer night against the Kansas City Royals. The catcher started off by hitting his 55th blast of the year in the third inning, breaking Mickey Mantle’s MLB record for homers by a switch-hitter in a single season. Mantle set the record with 54 homers in 1961.
Then, in the fourth, Raleigh hit home run No. 56 with a two-run shot to center field, tying Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. for the franchise single-season record.
With the two-homer performance, Raleigh became the first player in MLB history with a multi-home run game against 10 different teams in the same season.
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Sept. 17: Raleigh smacked a solo homer, his 57th of the season, to pass Ken Griffey Jr. for the Mariners’ single-season home run record. Griffey hit the 56 mark twice, in 1997 and ’98, but Raleigh now stands alone on top.