Mariners' Cal Raleigh Made a Bit of History With His Latest Home Run Blast

The surprise leader of this year’s home run race is already making history.

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh reacts towards the dugout. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The MLB season is just about halfway through, and one of the biggest surprises of the year thus far has been Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh emerging as the current home run king.

Raleigh has been a solid power hitter throughout his career, with 30 home runs in 2023 and a career-high 34 dingers last season. But he is far from a name anyone expected to be leading the likes of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in the home run race as we neared the All-Star break.

On Friday afternoon, Raleigh made some well-deserved history against the Chicago Cubs that will stand in the record books even if Judge or Ohtani chases him down in the months of baseball to come.

In the top of the first inning, Raleigh went yard for the 28th time this season. The home run not only gave him the solo lead in the home run race once again, but it also tied a record for most home runs by a catcher hit before the All-Star break, matching Hall of Famer Johnny Bench.

Cal Raleigh ties Johnny Bench for the most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break 💪 pic.twitter.com/qnCgrnuvqb

— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2025

With three weeks still to play before this year’s Midsummer Classic, it feels likely that Raleigh will inevitably take the top spot for himself at some point in the coming days.

Congrats to the “Big Dumper” on his magical season so far.

Update: Turns out it would only take Raleigh a few innings to set the new mark for himself, sending his 29th home run out of the ballpark three at-bats later.

Cal Raleigh now has 29 homers! How many will he end the season with? pic.twitter.com/S2ezsyQZcS

— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2025

---

More MLB on Sports Illustrated

feed