CHICAGO -- Despite crouching behind the plate for Saturday afternoon’s three-hour and nine-minute marathon in 94-degree heat, Cal Raleigh continued his torrid power streak by crushing his 30th homer of the season during the ninth inning of a 10-7 loss to the Cubs, which also pushed him to the top of more historical leaderboards.
Raleigh passed Mickey Mantle, José Ramírez and Lance Berkman for the most homers by a switch-hitter before the All-Star break, and he passed Johnny Bench for the most by a primary catcher within that same criteria.
Raleigh also joined Mariners icon Ken Griffey Jr. as the only Mariners players to hit 30 homers before the All-Star break. Griffey did it three times, with 35 home runs in 1998, 33 in '94 and 30 in '97.
Raleigh also became the fastest player since Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez in 2001 to reach 30 by doing so in Seattle’s 75th game. Before then, only six others achieved the feat: Babe Ruth (1921, '28, '30), Sammy Sosa ('98, '99), Mark McGwire ('98), Griffey ('94), Reggie Jackson ('69) and Roger Maris ('61).
“To get in his last at-bat after a day of 95 degrees,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said, “he's a fighter.”
Coupled with his 34 homers in 2024 and 30 in ‘25, Raleigh also joined Hall of Famers Mike Piazza (nine times), Bench (four times) and Roy Campanella as the only catchers in history with three or more 30-plus-homer seasons.
Moreover, Raleigh now has three homers in this weekend series, tying him with Jarred Kelenic for the most in franchise history at Wrigley Field. The sample size is obviously smaller given that Seattle never played here before Interleague Play began in 1997. The Mariners rarely visited until the overhauled schedule in 2023 that ensures each team will visit every ballpark in every other year.
"Thirty home runs is impressive," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "And we're not even at the halfway point. He's good."
Raleigh’s opposite-field shot while batting left-handed on Saturday came off reliever Daniel Palencia’s 99.4 mph four-seamer, one day after he crushed two homers from the right side and tied the record for his position and ambidextrous skill set.
“Any time you're mentioned even in the same sentence as one of the best -- if not the best -- to ever do it is obviously a special, special thing,” Raleigh said on Friday. “So I’m just very grateful.”
Raleigh is now on pace for 65 this season, which would shatter the single-season records for a primary catcher (Salvador Perez’s 48 in 2021) and switch-hitter (Mantle’s 54 in 1961). And only Barry Bonds (73 in 2001), McGwire (70 in '98 and 65 in '99) and Sosa (66 in '98) have reached that mark.