Cal Raleigh Joins HOF Ken Griffey Jr. As 2nd Mariners Star to Hit 50 Home Runs in One Season

Cal Raleigh slammed his 50th home run of the season and became the 2nd player to reach this number while playing for the Seattle Mariners.

Cal Raleigh Joins HOF Ken Griffey Jr. As 2nd Mariners Star to Hit 50 Home Runs in One Season

Ken Griffey Jr. and Cal Raleigh (Image via MLB/TSN)

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Cal Raleigh continues to rake in the numbers and dominate. The Seattle Mariners catcher slammed his 50th home run of the season and joined MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. as just the 2nd Mariners player to hit 50 home runs in a single season.

The 28-year-old scripted history on Sunday with a 2 home run performance against the Athletics. He slammed his 48th home run of the year in the first inning, which tied him for the most home runs by a catcher with Salvador Perez.

In the next inning, he went yard again. Raleigh connected on another 2-run home run off the pitch of Jacob Lopez to give his team a 5-1 lead and broke the tie with Perez. With that home run, he became the catcher with the most home runs in a single season in MLB history.

“Big Dumper” did not cool down on Monday. After an 8-pitch battle with JP Sears of the San Diego Padres in the first inning, Raleigh hit a 93 mph fastball and smashed a 419-foot home run on the 9th pitch at bat.

He thus joined Griffey Jr. as the only other Mariners star to hit 50 home runs in a season and is just 6 shy of tying the franchise record for the most home runs hit by a player. Griffey Jr., the 13-time MLB All-Star, hit 56 home runs in both 1997 and 1998.

While speaking about this achievement after the game, Raleigh claimed that it did not feel “real” to him to reach the 50-homer milestone.

It doesn’t seem real. I mean, 50 home runs, it’s kind of a crazy number to think of. … I thought I was a cool player when I hit five when I was young in high school or something. You hit five, you had all this power in the world. So it’s just crazy.

Cal Raleigh said as per MLB.com

MLB analyst explains why Cal Raleigh will win AL MVP award ahead of Aaron Judge

Cal Raleigh’s impressive 2025 season saw him tick off another box on Monday. The Seattle Mariners star smashed his 50th home run of the year, sparking more shouts of MVP towards him. An MLB analyst explained why he will win this honor ahead of Aaron Judge.

Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge
Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge (Image via TSN)

The New York Yankees captain is having another fantastic season at the plate and had a hot start to the year. However, since his injury, his form has dipped a bit.

At the moment, Raleigh leads the MLB in the home run category. Judge, meanwhile, has 40 homers from 121 games this year. While speaking on the Wyman & Bob podcast, analyst Jon Morosi expressed that Raleigh playing in a catcher position is an important factor.

If I had a ballot in front of me right now, I would vote for Cal Raleigh. He’s the reason why they’re in a playoff position. He catches all those innings. It’s a hard staff to catch.

Jon Morosi said

Morosi also reflected on the 2022 AL MVP race between Judge and Shohei Ohtani. He explained how Judge hitting 62 home runs and playing in a challenging center field position was better than the two-way prowess of Ohtani.

As per the weekly poll by MLB.com, Raleigh is the frontrunner for this award ahead of Judge. He is currently on pace for 61 home runs, one shy of the AL record held by Judge.

The Mariners won 9-6 on Monday against the Padres to cut down the deficit between them and the Houston Astros to 1.5 games. They do occupy one of the 3 Wild Card spots at the moment. If they do make a deep run to the postseason, Cal Raleigh could become just the 3rd Mariners star after Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki to win the AL MVP award.

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