Cal Raleigh Now Only Trails Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. in Seattle Mariners History
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The Seattle Mariners open up a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday afternoon at Camden Yards, and they'll do it having won nine of their last 10 games.
Seattle is now 66-53, a season-high 10 games over .500, and they are just one game back of the Houston Astros in the American League West.
A major reason for the M's success has been the supernatural play of catcher Cal Raleigh, who is putting himself in position to potentially win the American League MVP Award.
With 45 home runs on the campaign, Raleigh leads baseball in the category. He's also paired himself with Ken Griffey Jr. in elite team history, as noted by M's broadcaster Gary Hill Jr.
There is only one Mariner who has hit more Home Runs in a season than Cal Raleigh. Truly amazing.
1. Ken Griffey Jr. 56 ('98)
1. Ken Griffey Jr. 56 ('97)
3. Ken Griffey Jr. 49 ('96)
4. Ken Griffey Jr. 48 ('99)
5. Ken Griffey Jr. 45 ('93)
5. Cal Raleigh 45 ('25)
There is only one Mariner who has hit more Home Runs in a season than Cal Raleigh. Truly amazing.
— Gary Hill Jr. (@GaryHillJr) August 11, 2025
1. Ken Griffey Jr. 56 ('98)
1. Ken Griffey Jr. 56 ('97)
3. Ken Griffey Jr. 49 ('96)
4. Ken Griffey Jr. 48 ('99)
5. Ken Griffey Jr. 45 ('93)
5. Cal Raleigh 45 ('25) pic.twitter.com/wJGSVjoigP
Any time you have joined Griffey in the record books, you have done something right. Nicknamed 'The Kid,' Griffey instantly helped revolutionize the M's franchise. He burst onto the scene in 1989, producing a 3.3 WAR season and hitting 16 homers in 127 games. From then on, he became one of the best players in baseball, making the All-Star team every year from 1990-1999 with Seattle. With the M's, he also won 10 Gold Glove Awards and seven Silver Slugger Awards.
He captured the American League MVP Award in 1997 when he hit 56 homers and drove in 147 runs. He led the American League in home runs four times with the Mariners and had the highest slugging percentage (.646) in 1997. The Mariners traded him to the Cincinnati Reds after the 1999 season but returned to Seattle in 2009 and played that season and part of 2010 before retiring. He hit 19 homers in those two seasons.
All in all, Griffey is one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016. He helped the Mariners make the playoffs in the 1995 and 1997 seasons, and Seattle advanced to the American League Championship Series in 1995.
If Raleigh were to win MVP, he would join Griffey and Ichiro (2001) as the only Mariners players to accomplish that feat.
The M's and Orioles will play at 3:35 p.m. PT on Tuesday. George Kirby will pitch against Dean Kremer.
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