SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 48th and 49th home runs on Sunday against the Athletics, setting a single-season record for catchers and passing Salvador Perez’s total with the Kansas City Royals in 2021.
The switch-hitting Raleigh, batting from the right side, homered off Athletics left-handed starter Jacob Lopez in the first inning to make it 2-0 and tie Perez. Raleigh got a fastball right down the middle from Lopez and ripped it an estimated 448 feet, according to Statcast. It was measured as the longest run of Raleigh’s career as a right-handed hitter.
In the following inning, Raleigh drilled a changeup from Lopez 412 feet. The longballs were Nos. 39 and 40 on the season for Raleigh as a catcher this year. He has nine while serving as a designated hitter.
Perez hit 15 home runs as a DH in 2021, and 33 at catcher.
Only four other players in big league history have hit at least 40 homers in a season while primarily playing catcher: Johnny Bench (twice), Roy Campanella, Todd Hundley and Mike Piazza (twice). Bench, Campanella and Piazza are Hall of Famers.
Raleigh launched 27 homers in 2022, then 30 in 2023 and 34 last season. Should he continue at his powerful pace, Raleigh could become the first American League catcher ever to lead the major leagues outright in home runs.
A first-time All-Star at age 28, Raleigh burst onto the national scene when he won the . He became the first switch-hitter and first catcher to win the title. He’s the second Mariners player to take the crown, after three-time winner Ken Griffey Jr.
With 31 games to go in the regular season, Raleigh also has an excellent chance of passing Griffey’s franchise record of 56 home runs in a season.
Raleigh’s homer gave him 104 RBIs on the season. He’s the first catcher with consecutive 100-RBI seasons since Piazza (1996-2000), and the first American League backstop to accomplish the feat since Thurman Munson (1975-77).
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