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Once again last night, Cal Raleigh managed to hit a long ball. Nothing new under the sun, you might say.
It was, in fact, his 50th long ball of the season. He obviously leads the majors in this regard, and continues to rewrite the record books for a player playing catcher.
Fifty, nifty, Big Dumper blasts
pic.twitter.com/ZMmtVlplj8
– Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 26, 2025
Of course, hitting his 50th home run on August 25 begs the question: what's the limit? Will he hit 62, like Aaron Judge in 2022, when he rewrote the American League history book?
If he does, will he be MVP? And if he doesn't, will he be?
What you need to know is that Judge had hit 51 home runs after 132 games. And Raleigh is precisely at 50 home runs in 132 games, which is pretty close to the Yankees captain's pace.
Judge had hit four home runs in his next four games, by the way… but hey: the pace is similar for a catcher.
Cal Raleigh hit his 50th HR tonight in Game 132.
In 2022, Aaron Judge was at 51 HR through Game 132.
(Judge then hit HRs in 4 straight from Games 133 through 136.)
The fact that a catcher is *near* Judge's 2022 pace is extraordinary. @MLBNetwork @Mariners @SeattleSports
– Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 26, 2025
Naturally, the man himself can't believe it. Hitting 50 home runs seemed unreal to him, but now he's the first player this year to hit so many long balls.
Only seven other players had managed to do so before September, by the way.
Cal Raleigh is the 8th player to hit 50 HR before September.
The list:
1961: Roger Maris
1998-2001: Sammy Sosa (3), Mark McGwire (2), Luis Gonzalez and Barry Bonds.
2017: Giancarlo Stanton
2022, 2024: Aaron Judge
2025: Cal Raleigh– Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 26, 2025
It's also worth remembering that he's an ambidextrous hitter. He has 30 home runs as a left-hander and no less than 20 as a right-hander. He joins Mickey Mantle, who was the only ambidextrous hitter to hit 50 in a single season.
How's that for a catch?
Cal Raleigh joins Mickey Mantle (2x, 1956, '61) as the only switch-hitters in @MLB history to hit 50+ home runs in a season. https://t.co/yKwKDVXJ0Q
– Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) August 26, 2025
Noting that the Mariners won 9-6 against the Padres and therefore won more games against the Padres than the Padres won against them this season, they won the Eddie Vedder Cup, created in honor of the Pearl Jam singer.
That's helped the Mariners in the standings.
- The Padres are no longer tied with the Dodgers in the standings.
- He's good.
Cam Schlittler showed his top-of-the-rotation potential in the Yankees' 10-5 win over the Nationals https://t.co/8tMiyEol7V pic.twitter.com/ydmEw6U0Or
– SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025
- Eh boy.
https://twitter.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1960166037510623235
- Blue Jays' win over the Twins.
https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1960174618691407960
- Wow.
https://twitter.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1960176019861602697
This content was created with the help of AI.
