KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cal Raleigh broke a record held by Mickey Mantle on Tuesday night while matching another held by Ken Griffey Jr.
That’s some company for a single night.
The Mariners catcher hit his 55th homer of the season in the second inning against the Kansas City Royals, sending him past Mantle’s mark for a switch-hitter that had stood since 1961. Then, Raleigh hit his 56th the very next inning, matching the club record that Griffey first established in 1997 and matched himself the following year.
“It just doesn’t even seem real,” said Seattle designated hitter Dominic Canzone, who on almost any other night would have been the star. He went 5 for 5 with three homers in the 12-5 win — the 10th straight for the Mariners.
“I mean, he just does it every single day,” Canzone continued, “and he’s doing it behind the plate as well. So just to have that type of a performance out of your catcher, it’s something that you really don’t see. It’s like, a once-in-a-lifetime type of player.”
Making the two-homer night even more impressive? Raleigh took a pitch from Mariners starter Logan Gilbert that bounced off the plate and off his neck, where it had missed under his catcher’s mask. A red welt was visible after the game.
Good thing for Seattle that he never thought about taking the rest of the night off.
“Yeah, I mean, it didn’t feel good,” said Raleigh, who also had a double and finished 3 for 5 at the plate. “You know, kind of let my head up a little bit. Have to tuck it in a little better. It was all good. Just stung a bit.
“One of those things that happen to catchers every once in a while.”
The homer barrage? That doesn’t happen among catchers very often. Raleigh earlier this season passed the home run mark for a backstop that had been held by Kansas City counterpart Salvador Perez, who hit 48 homers during the 2021 season.
Now, the next big name on the list is Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who had the last of the nine 60-homer seasons in the majors when he hit 62 in 2022. That also stands as the American League record.
“It’s really cool. I’m humbled by it. A crazy kind of thing I never thought would happen,” Raleigh said, standing inside a tunnel beneath Kauffman Stadium after his 20th career multi-homer game and his 10th this season. “Just taking it day-by-day, pitch-by-pitch. Really enjoying every day with these guys, and just trying to finish the season strong.”
The Mariners are certainly doing that. Their win over Kansas City to open their final trip of the regular season maintained a half-game AL West lead over Houston, which beat Texas on Tuesday night.
Seattle’s winning streak is its longest since July 2-17, 2022, when the club won 14 in a row.
And ultimately, that’s what matters the most to Raleigh, who seems to relish his home runs only when the Mariners win.
His first Tuesday night came off Royals starter Michael Wacha in the third inning while batting left-handed. His second came off Daniel Lynch IV while batting right-handed. It was the fifth time in his career he has homered from both sides of the plate.
Raleigh is three homers ahead of the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber for the big league lead with 12 games to go.
“You know, I think he’s approached this from Day 1 with a ton of humility,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “That’s the kind of person he is. You know, his desire is to win, and that’s what he wants to do here in Seattle is win. And that’s where his drive comes from. And that’s the way he has approached this whole thing. And I think, you know, Cal just continues to check off these milestones, and he does it with such a humble heart. He has handled it all so incredibly well.”
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