Cal Raleigh wins Gold Glove with the promise of more to come

Cal Raleigh deservedly won his first Gold Glove Award on Sunday, and has now also been named a finalist to win an AL Silver Slugger Award.

The 2024 Gold Glove Awards were unveiled Sunday on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” and, as expected, Cal Raleigh was among the winners. In fact, he was one of 14 players to win a Gold Glove for the first time, tying a Major League record set just two years earlier.

Finally, after previously seeming to not get his due recognition around the Majors, Raleigh is undoubtedly now being acknowledged as one of the game’s very best catchers. in this respect, he was more than deserving of winning his first Gold Glove, after previously being a finalist for the award back in 2022.

The 27-year-old proved his worth, after leading all Major League catchers with 26 catcher caught stealing and 1122.0 innings caught. He also led his pitching staff to a 3.30 ERA while he was behind the plate, which was again best in the Majors.

For the American League specifically, Raleigh led all catchers with 13 framing runs and was tied for most Defensive Runs Saved, at 16. It’s a sign of just how special he is, that he’s the first catcher in Mariners club history to win a Gold Glove.

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A double win for the Mariners

Dylan Moore also won his inaugural eve Gold Glove Award, another first for the Mariners as a utility player. The last time the club had multiple winners in the same year was back in 2020, with J.P. Crawford and Evan White; this is also the 13th time overall that the Mariners have had multiple winners in the same year.

As you’d expect, Raleigh is delighted to have won a Gold Glove. As per a statement from the Mariners, he said:

“I’m honored to have won my first Rawlings Gold Glove Award alongside such a talented group of athletes, especially DMo. I want to thank my family, coaches, teammates and fans for always pushing me to be my best and for the unwavering support.”

Another nomination for Raleigh

Keeping the positive vibes going with Raleigh specifically, on Monday he was also announced as an AL Silver Slugger finalist. The other three AL catchers named for the award include Yainer Diaz of the Houston Astros, Shea Langeliers of the Oakland Athletics, and Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals.

As with the Gold Glove, you have to think Raleigh is in the driving seat to also take home the AL Silver Slugger Award. His 34 home runs this past season led all Major League catchers, while his 100 RBI were second-most at his position.

From a historical perspective, the Cullowhee, North Carolina native is the first catcher to lead his position in homers for three consecutive seasons, since Mike Piazza achieved the feat in four straight years between 1999–2002. On the subject of Piazza, Raleigh reached 93 home runs in 2024, surpassing the Hall of Famer for the most in MLB history by a catcher in their first four seasons.

If you’re looking for more reasons why Raleigh deserves a Silver Slugger Award, he also led AL catchers in both FanGraphs WAR (5.4) and Baseball-Reference WAR (4.6). The winners will be unveiled on the MLB Network Nov. 12, at 3:00 p.m. PT.

How confident are you, that Cal Raleigh will add a Silver Slugger Award to his Gold Glove? Regardless, do you expect him to continue producing at a similar level in 2025, or perhaps even improve? Let us know in the comments section below.