Image credit:
Cal Raleigh (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Most catchers are just built differently—and then thereâ€s Cal Raleigh.
The 28-year-old Mariners backstop did things in 2025 that would have seemed impossible a year ago. But Raleigh is just built differently, even more so than his current catching brethren.
Catchers rarely win major awards, mostly on account of playing time disadvantages and the blunting effect of the battering they take behind the plate. Only Joe Mauer in 2009 and Buster Posey in 2012 have won the writers†MVP vote in the 21st century. In the expansion era, the list expands by just four names: Ivan Rodriguez in 1999, Thurman Munson in 1976, Johnny Bench in 1970 and â€72 and Elston Howard in 1963.
And while Baseball America chose Aaron Judge as our MLB Player of the Year, it was not a unanimous decision. Here are the main pillars in the case for Raleigh in 2025.
Season Shorthand
When fans reflect on the 2025 season, Raleighâ€s American League-leading 60 home runs will be one of its most memorable aspects. He also led the AL with 125 RBIs.
Raleighâ€s 60 homers are the most ever for a primary catcher, topping the 48 that Salvador Perez hit in 2021. Raleighâ€s .342 isolated slugging percentage is the highest ever for a primary catcher with 500 plate appearances, topping Roy Campanella in 1953 (.299) and Johnny Bench in 1970 (.294).
Raleigh also holds the single-season home run record for a player in the lineup at catcher. He hit 49 of his 60 homers while playing catcher, topping the 42 Javy Lopez hit in 2003. Campanella, Todd Hundley and Mike Piazza (twice) are the only other players ever to reach 40 homers in a season while in the lineup at catcher.
Another historical signifier for Raleighâ€s season is team success. He helped the Mariners to 90 wins and their first AL West title since 2001.
Catcher Value
No player on the field takes more of a licking and keeps on ticking than the catcher.
He takes foul balls off the face mask, off the hands and off the thighs. He risks getting struck by batters†back swings. Breaking balls in the dirt can bounce unpredictably and evade his body armor.
Catchers also play a key role in game-planning and preparing plans of attack for opposing hitters. He must also build rapport with the 13 pitchers on his teamâ€s staff, plus more than a dozen more when accounting for callups and fill-ins.
In Raleighâ€s case, he is more than just a player whose position happens to be catcher. He is a strong defender, as well. According to Statcast, Raleigh ranks fifth in framing runs this season and is above-average in terms of throwing out basestealers.
Because pitch framing is such a crucial skill for catchers, Raleigh is assessed as a huge defensive asset—87th percentile—via Statcast’s overall fielding runs.
Switch-Hitting Value
Raleigh excels from both sides of the plate at a time when switch-hitting is on the wane.
Switch-hitters took 20,594 plate appearances in 2025—the fourth-lowest total of the 30-team era, trailing only the 2024, 2023 and 2021 seasons. Raleigh and other switch-hitting stars such as Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor and Ketel Marte are keeping the art alive.
Switch-hitters have to work daily to refine two swings rather than one. Even though a switch-hitter will use his righthanded swing only about 25 percent of the time, he must be ready to use it in case he faces a lefthanded reliever in a game started by a righthanded pitcher.
That takes a level of preparation and dedication that is not required for a player who bats from only one side of the plate.
Elite hitters such as Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani are, by definition, elite versus pitchers of both hands. But among mere mortals, Raleighâ€s switch-hitting boosts his value.
This season, Raleigh obliterated Mickey Mantleâ€s 61-year-old record for home runs by a switch-hitter. Mantle hit 54 homers in 1961 and 52 in 1956. Before this year, those were the only two 50-homer seasons by a switch-hitter.
But Raleighâ€s accomplishment goes deeper than his overall home runs total. This year, he became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 20 home runs from both sides of the plate in a season. He hit 38 homers with a .909 OPS vs. righthanders and 22 homers with a 1.032 OPS vs. lefthanders.
Incredibly, Raleigh has a .798 OPS from both sides of the plate for his career.
Park Factors
Seattleâ€s T-Mobile Park is the toughest hitterâ€s park in MLB in terms of runs scored. It is also well below-average for home runs but not the very worst.
Mariners players also have the roughest travel schedule in MLB because Seattle is geographically isolated from all other team clusters.
These effects had no impact on Raleighâ€s raw production this season. He produced a .999 OPS in road games and an .893 mark at T-Mobile. This is consistent with his career norms.
Raleigh overcame his home park and travel rigors to set the Mariners franchise record for home runs, bettering Ken Griffey Jr., a Hall of Famer who hit 56 in both 1997 and â€98.
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.