The baseball world knew that Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh could play before 2025—let's get that out of the way. Extrapolated to 162 games, he averaged about 4.0 bWAR in his first four seasons—very-good-starter-to-lesser-All-Star stuff.
His performance this year, however, has been something else entirely. Raleigh is slashing .260/.379/.595—MVP-type numbers that put his '25 in conversation with the best catching seasons in history.
On Friday against the Minnesota Twins, the "Big Dumper" slammed his 20th home run of the season. With that blast, per the Mariners, Raleigh became the first catcher in history to hit 20 home runs before the end of May.
The record for most home runs by a primary catcher is 48—set by the Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez in 2021. Raleigh is currently on pace to hit 57, which would obliterate that mark (in fact, Seattle's franchise record is 56, set twice by center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. in the 1990s).
As if he weren't showing off enough, he also has six stolen bases to his name this season. He's on pace for 17, which would be the most in the American League by a catcher since Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers swiped 25 in 1999.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mariners' Cal Raleigh Reaches Unprecedented Home Run Total for a Catcher.