Cal Raleigh Continues Historic Season by Breaking a Ken Griffey Jr. Record

Even in a blowout loss, the Mariners catcher remains unstoppable.

Cal Raleigh watches a home run leave the ballpark against the Pirates. / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

The Pacific Northwest is Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh's world—and the team's fans are all just living in it.

Tuesday wasn't the Mariners' evening, as the team lost 10–3 to the New York Yankees in the Bronx. However, Raleigh made history by crushing his 36th home run of the year. That gave him Seattle's all-time record for home runs before the All-Star break—a mark previously held by Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.

Raleigh has already eclipsed his home run total from last season—a then-career-high 34. He is on pace to bash 63 home runs, which would be an American League record and the most in Major League Baseball since 2001.

36 home runs for Cal Raleigh!

He passes Ken Griffey Jr. for most home runs by a @Mariners player before the All-Star break 😳 pic.twitter.com/Dz6urLTdK7

— MLB (@MLB) July 9, 2025

Thanks to Raleigh's otherworldly '25, the Mariners are the current owners of the AL's final wild-card spot. They lead the Boston Red Sox by one game in that race.

More broadly, he's given Seattle fans hope—a quality that has been in short supply there for much of this century.

---

More MLB on Sports Illustrated

feed