Raleigh hits home run No. 60! A monthly breakdown of the historic campaign

The database of MLB players who ne'er deed 60 location runs successful a azygous play includes galore of the game's all-time top sluggers: Willie Mays, Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome and Jimmie Foxx. Heck, Henry Aaron ne'er deed 50. Neither did Frank Robinson oregon Reggie Jackson oregon Lou Gehrig oregon countless different inner-circle Hall of Famers.

But Cal Raleigh, the quiet, humble catcher for the Seattle Mariners, is present portion of 1 of baseball's astir exclusive clubs: 60 location runs successful 1 season. It is an unfathomable, improbable, astonishing performance. It is shot astatine its astir fun: the unexpected. He has fixed Mariners fans -- each fans, truly -- thing to basal for connected a nightly basis.

He joins a nine that includes Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Aaron Judge, Roger Maris and Babe Ruth -- 3 New York Yankees and 3 players with tainted legacies. Raleigh astir evidently resembles Maris, the quiet, shy slugger from North Dakota who recoiled astatine each the attraction helium received from the property erstwhile helium chased down Ruth's grounds successful 1961 and finished with 61 location runs.

Maris, however, was astatine slightest the reigning AL MVP entering the 1961 season. Raleigh, connected the different hand, had ne'er been an All-Star earlier 2025. When helium recently deed his 55th and 56th location runs successful the aforesaid game to interruption Mickey Mantle's single-season grounds for location runs by a switch-hitter and necktie Griffey's franchise record, helium seemed astir embarrassed to sermon the achievement.

"I consciousness similar my sanction shouldn't beryllium successful the aforesaid condemnation arsenic those guys, Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr.," Raleigh said. "I don't truly person words for it. I don't truly cognize what to say. I'm definite 1 time it volition acceptable in, but for present it's conscionable 'keep it going.'"

He has kept it going -- each the mode to the 60-home-run people (in different double-homer performance, naturally). With his 60th blast of the play present successful the books, let's look backmost astatine each period of his singular 2025 campaign.

March/April

Number of location runs: 10

Longest location run: 422 feet successful Cincinnati disconnected Emilio Pagan (April 17)

Most clutch location run: Two-run blast disconnected the Texas Rangers' Chris Martin successful the bottommost of the eighth to springiness the Mariners a 5-3 triumph (April 11)

Raleigh didn't statesman the play giving immoderate denotation helium was astir to embark upon a record-setting campaign. In his archetypal 13 games, helium deed .184 with 2 location runs and conscionable 3 RBIs. Indeed, the biggest quality surrounding Raleigh astatine this constituent was the Mariners' announcement the time earlier the regular play began that they had signed him to a six-year, $105 cardinal extension that began with the 2025 play and runs done 2030, with a subordinate vesting enactment for 2031. Interestingly, Raleigh had switched agents successful the offseason, changing from Scott Boras to Excel Sports Management. Boras, of course, has a estimation for pushing his clients to escaped bureau -- and, surely now, Raleigh's woody looks similar a comparative bargain for the Mariners.

But the location tally disconnected Martin connected April 11 got Raleigh going connected a blistery streak. He homered six times successful six games and 8 times the remainder of the month. The location tally disconnected Pagan was different large one: That led disconnected the apical of the ninth and Randy...