Inside The Mariners

Seattle Mariners Catcher Cal Raleigh Makes MLB History Against Chicago Cubs

The Mariners Platinum Glove-winning catcher passed Hall of Famer Johnny Bench in an incredible statistic with his two-home run performance Friday.
Teren Kowatsch|
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hits a home run during a game against the Chicago Cubs on June 20 at Wrigley Field.
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hits a home run during a game against the Chicago Cubs on June 20 at Wrigley Field. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh continued to make history in a game against the Chicago Cubs on Friday at Wrigley Field.

Raleigh entered Friday with a major league-leading 27 home runs this season. He needed one more tie and two to pass National Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench for the most by a catcher in MLB history before the All-Star Break. Bench set that record in 1970.

Raleigh wasted no time drawing even with Bench and hit a solo shot in the top of the first to pull Seattle in front 1-0.

In the top of the seventh inning, Raleigh set the record. He blasted a two-run home run to left field — a 414-foot, 106.3 mph shot. Raleigh's 29th home run of the season also game the Mariners a 6-4 lead. It was his sixth multi-home run game of the season.

Raleigh's 29th homer was also the second-most by a player before the All-Star break in Mariners history. The only player to have more than him in that stretch was Ken Griffey Jr., who had 30 or more home runs in the first half three times in his career. There's still more than three weeks left until the All-Star Break, which would allow Raleigh to continue to build the home runs record by a catcher, and draw closer to Griffey's 35-home run mark from 1998.

Raleigh is on pace to have the greatest offensive season by a catcher in MLB history. After Raleigh's history-making home run, he had scored 50 runs in 73 games and hit 14 doubles to go with 29 homers and 63 RBIs (tied for the most in baseball). Raleigh had a slash line of .270/.377/.644 with a 1.021 OPS after his blast.

Based on the first All-Star voting update, Raleigh would be the American League's starting catcher in the All-Star Game — the first catcher in Seattle history to do so.

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Teren Kowatsch
TEREN KOWATSCH

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