HistoriCAL: Mariners Star Cal Raleigh Clinches Single Season HR Record By Catcher
SEATTLE, Wash. — Caleb John Raleigh. That’s the name of the record-holder for most home runs by a catcher in a single season.
With the pace he had been blasting bombs all year, this accomplishment was a long time coming for the Seattle Mariners superstar. 10 dingers through the end of April was a strong start that solidified into 22 longballs at the beginning of June. And they simply kept coming. At the All-Star Break, Raleigh had launched 38 balls over MLB fences in 2025, a number which expanded to 42 by the end of July.
Going into 2025, the greatest number of home runs hit by a catcher during a single season was 48, knocked by Royals backstop Salvador Perez in 2021. Next was Johnny Bench’s 45 shots in 1970, and after that, there had been just six other 40-homer catching seasons in MLB history.
There has never been a 50-homer season by a primary catcher in MLB history. But after the Mariners’ game on August 24, Raleigh is just one blast away from that half-century mark with more than a month left to play.
Raleigh entered the game sitting on 47 homers, one shy of Perez’s catching record. Over the previous five games, he had notched just one hit, but he wasted no time blasting his name into the history books on Sunday afternoon, tying Perez in the first inning. Athletics starter Jacob Lopez saw Raleigh again in the second inning and tossed him a first pitch changeup—one that was right down the groove.
In the wake of Raleigh’s swing bellowed a thunderclap so enormous as to reach the ears of nearby barhoppers before any TV could deliver such knowledge to their eyes. Had they not taken note of the crack of the bat, the holler of the crowd certainly alerted them all the same. “MVP! MVP! MVP!” was roared in unison by 37,550 spectators upon seeing Cal Raleigh exit the dugout to tip his cap.
It was that moment he mentioned as he stood on the field after the game—a second before darting out of the way of Julio Rodriguez’ attempted gatorade bath—but the dugout call to go out for an encore wasn’t something the Mariners’ catcher was quite expecting.
“I didn’t know it’d be a thing. They were kind of pushing me out there and I was a little ‘oh, I don’t want to look dumb if I go out there,’ but it was really cool to see everybody up on their feet,” Raleigh said. “Obviously, to do it anywhere would be really special, but to do it here and to give them that, and see the appreciation—it was a really cool moment.”
As for the rest of the team, the M’s ran up an 11-4 victory over the A’s, improving to 70-61 and gaining a game on the Astros in the AL West.