Cal Raleigh pacing the card market for catchers
While much of the buzz across baseball has been whether Shohei Ohtani can record another 50 home run and 50 stolen base season or if Aaron Judge can hit .400 while slugging 60 home runs, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has arguably been one of the best stories in baseball through the first two months of the season.
Playing half of his games in Seattle, a place where it has been statistically harder to hit, Raleigh is among the top of the leaderboard in home runs in all of baseball. The 28-year-old has slugged 23 long balls through his first 58 games while recording an OPS of 1.016.
With his success in 2025, his card market has skyrocketed to heights never before seen.
Raleigh's rookie card can be found in 2022 Topps products after he debuted in the summer of 2021, although 2022 products are highlighted by Bobby Witt Jr., fellow Mariner Julio Rodriguez and Spencer Strider among others. According to sold listings, collectors could acquire a base autograph from 2022 Topps Chrome of Raleigh for as low as $15 in December of 2023 and as low as $50 in early 2025.
As Raleigh has surged, so have his prices. On June 1, the same base autographs going for cheap a few months prior were selling for as much as $120.
Traditionally, catchers are not the position where most collectors flock to collect given the wear and tear they take from foul balls and deflections. Those small dings and bruises tend to accumulate throughout the course of a season and impact their offensive production. Even popular catchers in the hobby such as Adley Rutschman and William Contreras have been off to slow starts to their seasons.
While it seems unlikely Raleigh will maintain a 60-home run pace as a catcher for the remainder of the season, he has cemented himself as one of the better catchers across baseball with his showcased power being the best at his position. As popular players to collect in cards tend to be the big-time sluggers, Raleigh, who has hit 30+ home runs in two of his first three full seasons may have begun to earn a seat at the table of some of baseball's best and most consistent sluggers.
Dan Gardella is a Red Sox fan and collector growing up in Yankee territory in Connecticut. While only reviving his love for the hobby a few years ago, he provides knowledge into baseball cards from prospects to the big leagues.
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