Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh Receives Votes For Most Valuable Player
There wasn't a whole lot of debate this offseason over who the National League and American League Most Valuable Players would be.
Shohei Ohtani, in his first year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, founded the 50-50 club (50 home runs, 50 stolen bases) while recovering from a surgery that kept him off the pitcher's mound for the entire season.
The New York Yankees' Aaron Judge had an elite season at the plate himself, hitting .322 with 58 homers and 144 RBIs en route to an AL pennant. He had a 10.8 bWAR.
Both players received their respective MVP awards on Thursday. Both players were unanimous winners, receiving all 30 first place votes from media members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA).
Judge and Ohtani winning wasn't surprising. But what was a bit of a shocker was else was on the list of players who received MVP votes: Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.
Raleigh was a finalist for an AL's Silver Slugger award and won Gold Glove and Platinum Glove honors this offseason.
The Mariners backstop caught more innings than any other player in the majors (1,122) and led the league in home runs at the position (34). He also broke the MLB record for most home runs by a catcher through their first four seasons (93), passing Hall of Famer Mike Piazza. That number of long balls also set the franchise record for most home runs by a player in their first four years with the club.
Cal Raleigh hits his 93rd career home run, most all-time among catchers through their first four seasons! pic.twitter.com/iSC0lfDbSE
— MLB (@MLB) September 29, 2024
Raleigh's 34 home runs and 100 RBIs was also the most by a catcher in a single season in Seattle.
A few media members seemed to recognize Raleigh's impact and he received several MVP votes as a result.
According to the breakdown of votes released by the BBWAA, Raleigh received a seventh-place vote, an eighth-place vote, two ninth-place votes and a 10th-place vote. That gave him a grand total of 12 MVP points, good for 12th-most in the AL.
Raleigh was named Seattle's team MVP this past season. And if his trajectory continues at the pace it has, it might not be a rare sight to see Raleigh included among the list of vote-getters.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
GOING OVER PAST CY YOUNG WINNERS: The Seattle Mariners don't have a long list of Cy Young winners, but the two that they have, Felix Hernandez and Randy Johnson, were solid representatives for the franchise. CLICK HERE
ANALYSIS: SASAKI SIGNING COULD SPELL DISASTER FOR MARINERS INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS: The Seattle Mariners will reportedly make a pitch to sign the Japanese pitcher, but it could set the team back going after future international prospects. CLICK HERE
POPULAR PROJECTION MODEL COMPLIMENTARY TO POTENTIAL 2025 SEATTLE OFFENSE: The Seattle Mariners lineup might be due to a bounce back season in 2025 according to FanGraphs' prediction model. CLICK HERE
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.
