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Cal Raleigh Defeats Junior Caminero in Final Round to Win 2025 Home Run Derby

"Big Dumper" hit 54 total homers on Monday night to take the crown.

Tom Dierberger

Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh swings during the 2025 Home Run Derby at Truist Park.
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh swings during the 2025 Home Run Derby at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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Monday was a night to remember for the Raleigh family.

With his father, Todd, pitching on the mound and his 15-year-old brother, Todd Jr., catching behind the plate, Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh hit 18 homers in the final round—and 54 overall—to take home the 2025 MLB Home Run Derby crown. He became the first catcher and switch hitter to capture the crown.

"It means the world," Raleigh said to Jeff Passan on the ESPN broadcast after the final round. "I could've hit zero home runs and had just as much fun. I just can't believe I won. It's unbelievable!"

Raleigh batted first in the final round and mashed 18 homers from the left side of the plate. The other finalist, Rays infielder Junior Caminero, fell just short with 15 homers.

But "Big Dumper" nearly didn't advance past the first round.

Raleigh hit 17 homers in the opening round, tied with Brent Rooker for fourth place out of eight batters behind Oneil Cruz (21 homers), Caminero (21) and Byron Buxton (20). Raleigh and Rooker went to a tiebreaker to determine who advanced—and MLB announced after the round that the Mariners slugger's longest home run traveled about an inch further than Rooker's longest dinger.

Raleigh's longest homer was measured at 470.617 feet, narrowly defeating Rooker's distance of 470.535 feet.

"You know, maybe if they have it to the decimal point, they should display that during the Derby and not wait till everyone's done to bring out that information that might be helpful," Rooker said to reporters after the Derby.

In the second round, Raleigh cruised past Oneil Cruz with 19 homers to his 13.

Raleigh is the first Mariners player to win the Home Run Derby since Ken Griffey Jr. did it three times in 1994, '98 and '99. And, coincidentally, Griffey was in attendance at Truist Park on Monday night working as a photographer for the event.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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