The clubhouse in Seattle operated like an unguided ship. The Mariners began their 2025 season poorly by losing their first eight games before struggling with both slumps and injuries. The IL received several important players including George Kirby and Dylan Moore and multiple other players. Hope seemed fleeting, until Cal Raleigh ignited a turnaround. By the end of April, Raleigh had already blasted ten homers, anchoring an offense suddenly alive and pushing Seattle into AL West contention.

Raleigh didn’t just deliver power; he delivered a wake-up call. By late August, the 28-year-old catcher and switch-hitter shattered history, launching his 49th homer of the season to break the MLB single-season record for home runs by a primary catcher, surpassing Salvador Pérez’s 48 in 2021. With a .247 average, an OPS around .945, 106 RBIs, and top-of-the-league homer power, Raleigh transformed from under-the-radar contributor to organizational cornerstone.

“If there’s no Cal Raleigh, are they even in the picture?” That sharp line from Xavier Scruggs on MLB Network Radio didn’t just sing Raleigh’s praises; it exposed Seattle’s prior inertia. “If he’s not doing what he’s doing this year, you don’t have Jerry DiPoto going out and saying, ‘Let me go get Josh Naylor. Let me go get Eugenio Suárez...’” Raleigh’s surge didn’t just buoy the Mariners’ hopes, it practically forced the front office to act.

Here’s the real plot twist: despite depth on paper, the Mariners essentially needed one hot-hitting catcher to reroute their season. Raleigh’s power, atop average exit velocity, barrel rates, and run production, lit a fuse not only under teammates but also the brass upstairs. Suddenly, reinforcements like Naylor and Suárez weren’t luxury additions; they became necessities.

Now, the spotlight pivots back to the clubhouse. One player lit the flame; now everyone else must fuel it. October baseball won’t be carried by homers alone; it requires cohesion, timely offense, and collective grit. Raleigh laid the foundation; it’s up to the roster to build the house. That’s where the MVP conversation takes on a sharper meaning. Aaron Judge may have the pedigree, the market, and the spotlight, but Raleigh has the narrative and the numbers that prove his value transcends the stat sheet. If the Mariners finish what he started, Judge won’t just have competition; he’ll have a serious challenger to his crown.

 Cal Raleigh powers Seattle Mariners with monster day

Cal Raleigh didn’t just show up on Sunday; he took over. The Mariners’ catcher went 3-for-5 with two towering home runs and four RBI, leading Seattle to an emphatic 11–4 victory over the Oakland Athletics. The offense has been struggling with inconsistent batting, but Raleigh has kept the team afloat by making the most of mistakes and proving why he is the mainstay of the lineup.

The performance wasn’t just another good day; it was historic. Raleigh’s two blasts pushed him to 49 on the season, breaking Salvador Pérez’s 2021 record of 48 for the most home runs ever by a primary catcher in a single year. That’s not just Mariners history, it’s Major League history. The swing that once drew whispers about potential is now carving out a legacy, one homer at a time, and putting Seattle in games it has no business winning without him.

And then came another milestone, one that stamped his name alongside Mickey Mantle. Sunday’s effort marked Raleigh’s ninth multi-homer game of the season, breaking Mantle’s long-standing record for a switch-hitter. With 31 games left, he sits within reach of Mantle’s 55-homer mark, the most ever by a switch-hitter, and just two shy of tying the all-time record for multi-homer games in a season. If this pace holds, Raleigh isn’t just chasing history; he’s rewriting it in real time.