Cal Raleigh First Since Judge with 60 Home Runs

The Seattle Mariners’ backstop, Cal Raleigh, achieved his 59th and 60th round-trippers on Wednesday versus the Colorado squad, surpassing a noteworthy benchmark as he concludes his memorable campaign. Raleigh has become only the fourth participant in American League annals to exceed the 60 long-ball mark, and the initial one not affiliated with the New York Yankees at the time.

To be precise, Raleigh is the first individual to blast 60 or more dingers since Yankees powerhouse Aaron Judge established a new American League and franchise single-season standard with 62 circuit clouts in 2022. Prior to Judge’s feat, no participant had surpassed the 60-homer threshold since 2001.

AL players with 60-homer seasons

Moreover, Raleigh established a new single-season benchmark for the most big flies by a primary receiver (previously 48) in late August, and he has since eclipsed the single-season benchmark for the most blasts by a switch hitter (55) and Mariners participant (56) in September. It has truly been a remarkable, unforgettable season.

His 59th four-bagger earlier in the evening sailed majestically into the upper right-field seating area of T-Mobile Park.

Raleigh, at 28 years of age, entered Wednesday’s contest with a .245/.359/.586 slash line (168 OPS+), accompanied by 58 homers, 121 runs driven in, and 14 stolen bases. His contributions have been assessed to be worth approximately 6.9 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations. Nevertheless, Raleigh is also an above-average receiver behind the dish, a factor not incorporated into Baseball Reference’s WAR metric. Therefore, it is reasonable to propose that Raleigh has been even more valuable to the Mariners throughout the year.

It is no shock that Raleigh is regarded as one of the frontrunners to secure the AL Most Valuable Player Award, with the aforementioned Judge presenting substantial competition.

The Mariners clinched the American League West title with their victory on Wednesday, marking their first division crown since 2001. Prior to this, the Mariners had guaranteed their participation in the playoffs for only the second instance in the past 24 years. Seattle concluded a 21-year postseason absence in 2022, advancing to the Division Series before being swept in three contests by the Houston Astros.

The Mariners will finalize their series with the Rockies on Thursday before concluding their campaign with three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend. Theoretically, this could serve as a glimpse of the forthcoming World Series.