PEORIA, Ariz. — Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has already launched his first spring training home run, but the switch-hitting slugger says he’s not specifically chasing another 60-home run campaign after his record-breaking 2024 season.
The 29-year-old backstop, who topped Major League Baseball with 60 long balls last year, smacked a 427-foot blast against the Chicago White Sox during Tuesday’s exhibition matchup. The homer marked his first of the spring in just his third game.
“I think the elephant in the room is 60 home runs. That’s not something I’m setting out to do,” Raleigh explained to Seattle Sports this week. “To me, I’m just trying to be as consistent as possible, trying to do what I did last year.”
Raleigh’s 60 home runs in 2024 established a new benchmark for players who spent most of their time catching, as he started 119 games behind the plate while adding 38 more as a designated hitter. The player known as “Big Dumper” also posted career-best numbers with 125 RBIs and earned runner-up honors in American League MVP balloting, finishing behind three-time winner Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.
Both Judge and Raleigh will represent Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, with pool play starting next week. Judge previously established the American League record by belting 62 homers during the 2022 campaign.
The two sluggers join an exclusive group of just seven players who have reached the 60-home run milestone. Only Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have accomplished the feat in back-to-back seasons, doing so in 1998 and 1999. McGwire and Sosa remain the lone players with multiple 60-homer seasons, with Sosa adding a third such campaign in 2001.
