Cal Raleigh Named MLBPA Player of the Year, American League Outstanding Player
For the first time since the award’s inception in 1992, a Seattle Mariner has won the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s Player of the Year Award. It is, of course, Cal Raleigh.
Raleigh put up one of the greatest catching seasons in history in 2025, leading his team to the ALCS on the back of 60 home runs, 125 RBIs, and a .948 OPS, all while performing quite solidly behind the dish during 120 games as the team’s backstop (he played in 160 games total during the regular season, the remaining 40 almost all at designated hitter). Raleigh’s 65 home runs during a calendar year are the most by anyone in American League history, while his 60-homer regular season was just the fourth the Junior Circuit ever saw.
The Player of the Year award is an overall award voted on by the players that covers both leagues. It is not the much-sought American League MVP award, which was voted on by writers after the conclusion of the regular season and will be announced on Nov. 13, 2025. It is also separate from the Sporting News’ MLB Player of the Year, another player-voted award that Raleigh took home with a 46 percent plurality on Oct. 24.
In addition to his Player of the Year accolade, Raleigh has also been awarded the AL Outstanding Player award, again by his peers. Three other Mariners have taken home that prize: Alex Rodriguez in 1996 and 1998, Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997, and Ichiro in 2004.