Cal Raleigh sets Seattle Mariners' single-season HR record

Cal Raleigh stands alone as the Seattle Mariners’ home run king.

Raleigh passed Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. for the Mariners’ single-season record with his 57th home run Friday night. And it perhaps came in the best place outside of T-Mobile Park – at the division rival Houston Astros’ homefield during a pivotal American League West showdown.

“The Big Dumper” went the opposite way on a sinker from Astros left-hander Framber Valdez, sending over the fence in right-center field for a solo shot and 3-0 lead in top of the third inning.

Raleigh’s record-setting blast traveled 398 feet and came off the bat at 105.6 mph.

Raleigh leads MLB in home runs and the AL with 119 RBIs.

The 57 home runs in a season are tied for 17th all-time with Luis Gonzalez and former Mariner Alex Rodriguez. He’s the only catcher in league history and just the second Mariner to hit 50 homers in a season. His previous career high was 34 set last year.

One of the two top candidates in the AL MVP race alongside Yankees star Aaron Judge, Raleigh is slashing .247/.361/.588 with a .949 OPS in 152 games. He entered the day second to Judge in the AL with 8.5 fWAR.

Raleigh’s latest home run was another in a historic season that’s seen him knock records with regularity.

The slugger homered to tie Mickey Mantle’s single-season MLB record for switch-hitters at 54 and break Javy López’s single-season record with his 43rd while playing catcher Sunday. Raleigh clubbed two more home runs Tuesday, passing Mantle’s record with No. 55 and tying Griffey’s Mariners record with No. 56.

Cal Raleigh can’t believe his name is now beside Mantle and Griffey

A few of the other records under Raleigh’s belt include most home runs by a primary catcher (previously 48), first-ever player to hit 20 home runs from each side of the plate and first catcher to hit double-digit home runs in three consecutive months.

Raleigh, who won the Home Run Derby and was elected to his first All-Star team this season, is also just one multi-homer game shy of tying Judge, Sammy Sosa and Hank Greenberg for the single-season record of 11.

The next big number for Raleigh to track down is 60, which has been done just total nine times by six players throughout league history. After that, it’s Judge’s AL record of 62, which he’ll have just seven games to reach after Saturday.

Raleigh agreed to a six-year, $140 million contract extension with the Mariners in March that will keep him in Seattle through at least the 2030 season.

Cal Raleigh sets Seattle Mariners’ single-season HR record

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