ESPN Insider Jeff Passan Heaps High Praise on Seattle Mariners Catcher Cal Raleigh
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It's been an eventful year for Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.
The former Florida State product set several franchise records in single-season RBIs (100), home runs (34) and set the MLB record for most home runs by a catcher in their first four seasons (93) — all in 2024. Raleigh also won the American League Gold Glove and Platinum Glove awards in the offseason and became the first catcher in Mariners history to accomplish that feat.
On top of the records Raleigh set, he also caught for what was arguably the best starting rotation in baseball. This helped him earn a six-year, $105 million contract extension in the offseason that will keep him in Seattle through at least 2030.
Entering Wednesday, Raleigh is hitting .244 (22-for-90) with a team-leading nine home runs and 16 RBIs. He reached 100 career homers earlier this season. And if he hits a homer in the final two games of the series against Boston Red Sox either Wednesday or Thursday, he would become the fifth player in Mariners history to hit 10 or more home runs in the first 25 games of the season. The other four on that list are Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Nelson Cruz and Ken Phelps.
And Raleigh recently received a heap of praise from a prominent ESPN insider.
Jeff Passan made an appearance on Seattle Sports 710 and called Raleigh the best catcher in baseball.
"I think he's at the top of the list, right. I mean, just at this point, I'm not sure who else is there. William Contreras is a good catcher. But defensively and offensively this season, he's not on Cal Raleigh's level. Adley Rutschman is a good catcher. Offensive, it's not even close at this point. And we got to acknowledge, also, that Cal Raleigh plays a lot. You just don't see catchers out there every day like him. It's a weak position at this point. The only argument that I think you could make would be Will Smith. But I feel like Cal Raleigh is so much better defensively than Will Smith is. That's the separator. So I think you're looking at the best catcher in Major League Baseball right now."
"I think you’re looking at the best catcher in MLB." 🔱
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) April 22, 2025
High praise from Jeff Passan for @Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh when speaking to @BrockHuard & @TheMikeSalk.
FULL VIDEO 📺: https://t.co/Tly6xXjJ7g https://t.co/KhTlWsc1wo pic.twitter.com/Yht39iFO3H
Raleigh is becoming more well-known across different league circles by fans and media alike. And if he continues at his current pace, more fans and media will likely share Passan's opinion before long.
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