Mariners star Cal Raleigh receives Sports Illustrated Breakout Player Award
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Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, this season's runner-up for the American League Most Valuable Award, has been named the Sports Illustrated Breakout Star of the Year Award winner for 2025. The honor recognizes his breakout year, one that saw him hit 60 home runs, shattering the single-season records for both a catcher and a switch-hitter.
Raleigh, 29, helped lead the Mariners to their first AL West Division Championship in 21 years, as the team came within one win of the first-ever appearance in the World Series. Besides leading the Majors in home runs, he led the AL in RBI (125) and established career highs with 147 hits, 110 runs scored, 24 doubles, and 14 stolen bases.
The veteran adds another honor to his trophy case, which is already decorated with multiple postseason awards. He already captured the Sporting News MLB Player of the Year Award, the Player's Choice Awards for Player of the Year, and Most Outstanding AL Player of the Year.
Raleigh is respected by his peers
Raleigh is considered one of the great stories in baseball in 2025, risingto the top of the game as one of its most prominent players. He's also highly respected for his humility and work ethic, as well as being a two-way player who can impact a game on defense and offense.
After finishing ahead of Cal Raleigh in this year's MVP balloting, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge had this say about the Seattle catcher:
"I could sit here and talk all night about the player that he is,”Judge said. “But I think, really, the type of leader and person here is really what stuck out to me at the All-Star Game.
“His main focus wasn't, ‘I made it to an All-Star Game. I'm doing this and that. I won the Home Run Derby. How cool is this?’ He was focused on, 'How can I make my team better? How can I make the guys around me better?’ Like, ‘What tips can you give me?'"
“Hearing him say that, and all this craziness that he's going through, man, that really, really stuck out to me, and he really showed me what this guy is all about. He's all about winning and helping his guys. That's the reason why he had the success this year and why he will continue to have success in this league.”
