Raleigh eclipses Griffey Jr. with latest record HR

HOUSTON -- Cal Raleigh broke Ken Griffey Jr.'s single-season franchise grounds for location runs with his 57th connected Saturday nighttime arsenic the Seattle Mariners catcher moves wrong scope of 60 -- a milestone fewer players person ever reached.

Griffey Jr. deed 56 homers during the 1997 season, and again successful 1998, portion of a resume that earned him a near-unanimous predetermination into Baseball's Hall of Fame successful 1996. Because of his humanities stature and the wide trouble for hitters to make location runs successful the Mariners' location park, it was uncertain whether anyone would attack Griffey Jr.'s record.

Griffey's people is the 3rd Raleigh has breached successful his year-long demolition of pitchers; he's besides the all-time single-season location tally person for catchers and switch-hitters. If helium reaches 60 homer, Raleigh would beryllium conscionable the seventh subordinate to scope the milestone successful MLB history.

Batting successful the apical of the 3rd inning, Raleigh fell down successful the number nary balls and 2 strikes against Astros left-hander Framber Valdez. Rather than rotation a transportation retired of the zone, Valdez tried to sneak a fastball implicit the extracurricular corner. Raleigh, batting right-handed, leaned crossed the sheet and mashed a precocious thrust to right-center field, the shot easy clearing the Astros' bullpen.

Part of the Raleigh's dominance this play has been his quality to thrust pitches connected the outer 3rd of the sheet for location runs -- this was his 18th of the season, second-most successful baseball.

As always, Raleigh jogged steadily astir the bases, betraying small emotion, and aft hugging Eugenio Suarez and wading into joyful teammates successful the dugout, helium smiled somewhat arsenic helium was handed the team's trident.

Babe Ruth successful 1927 was the archetypal subordinate to scope 60 location runs, a grounds that stood for 34 years, erstwhile Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle some threatened the people successful 1961; connected the past time of the regular play Maris broke Ruth's grounds -- though a peculiar designation was attached to Maris's mark, which occurred successful a 162-game schedule. Ruth had played a 154-game docket successful 1927.

Then, successful 1998, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa vied for Maris's grounds successful a pursuit that captured the imaginativeness of shot fans. Barry Bonds acceptable a caller grounds with 73 successful 2001, and Aaron Judge broke Maris's AL grounds successful 2022 portion hitting 62 homers.

Now Raleigh is successful pursuit of 60 homers -- and, with 7 games remaining connected the Mariners' schedule, possibly adjacent Judge's grounds -- astatine a clip erstwhile the switch-hitting catcher is competing against Judge for the AL MVP Award.