Cal Raleigh has an eventful Monday with the Mariners

Monday started with an individual award for Cal Raleigh and then just kept getting better and better, with the promise of even more to come.

Cal Raleigh had a special weekend versus the Cubs in Chicago as he hit four homers and became just the third catcher in MLB history to score eight runs in a three-game series. As a result, on Monday he was named AL Player of the Week for the period between June 16-22, the second such award of his career after previously being named co-Player of the Week earlier this season.

There was just no other choice this time around, as Raleigh batted .417 in six games and produced five home runs, 12 RBI and three walks. He recorded a 1.606 OPS and added two stolen bases, along with 10 runs of his own.

As a result of his surge, Raleigh surpassed Hall of Famer Johnny Bench – set in 1970 — for most homers hit by a catcher before the All-Star Break. He also joins Ken Griffey Jr. as the only Mariners in team history to hit 30+ home runs prior to the All-Star festivities.

Cal Raleigh finally getting recognition around MLB

The good news continued for Raleigh on Monday, as MLB.com’s Manny Randhawa shared an update on voting for this year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta. The Mariners catcher is easily leading at his position in the AL with 1,901, 389 votes, is second overall in the AL behind just Aaron Judge, and will finally earn the first All-Star selection of his Major League career.

To top it all off, Raleigh later provided the icing on the cake of the Mariners’ impressive 11-2 win in their series opener versus the Twins in Minnesota. His two-run homer in the top of the ninth provided the final scoring on the night, as the M’s recorded 12 hits overall and continued their recent offensive surge.

No one is surging quite as much as Raleigh though, who as of Tuesday morning leads the majors with 32 home runs and 68 RBI. This is already a special season for the Mariners’ clubhouse leader, but now we’re entering historical territory.

Even Ken Griffey Jr. isn’t safe

Griffey has the most home runs in Mariners history prior to the All-Star Break with 33 and 35, which came in 1994 and 1998 respectively. However, Raleigh still has 19 more games to go until the festivities in Atlanta, to equal and surpass the standard set by the best player to ever wear an M’s uniform.

By extension, Raleigh seemingly has a chance to catch and surpass Griffery’s Mariners record of 56 home runs in a season, done twice in 1997 and 1998. As if this isn’t enough, the M’s catcher is currently projected to hit 67 home runs, which would beat Judge’s record of 62 set in 2022.

On the subject of Judge, while he is the understandable favorite as things stand to win AL MVP, a genuine case is there for Raleigh. As per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, Julio Rodríguez said:

“I think he just definitely deserves his first shot at the MVP. … The way that he’s just doing it, I think deserves to be looked at. Because what he’s doing as a catcher is pretty special, in the way that he can impact the game, and truly both sides of the ball. I just don’t think there’s anybody doing that right now.”

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Mariners’ best doesn’t want a piece of Cal Raleigh

The Mariners had another excellent start from Bryan Woo on Monday night with him effectively pitching like the staff ace at this point, but even he wouldn’t take his chances if he had to face Raleigh. Woo said:

“I’d put up four fingers and let him take first base. Yeah, I’m not pitching to him. I’ve said it over and over, I keep looking at our coaches like, ‘I don’t know why they don’t just put up four and let him be on first.’ It’s like, you almost expect it at this point.”

The Mariners are seemingly over their recent slump, having won seven of their past 10 games and sitting in the final AL wild card spot as of Tuesday morning. However, they are 4.5 games behind the Houston Astros at the top of the AL West and remain in a precarious position.

If the Mariners are to make a second playoff appearance in four years, it is imperative that more players on the team show better consistency moving forward. Otherwise they risk ruining what has been a phenomenal season for Raleigh, who more than deserves to be playing under the bright lights of October baseball.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

Will Cal Raleigh be able to remain at a similar level for the remainder of the season, or are you concerned he will eventually wear down? Pending this, what’s your prediction for what he will achieve in 2025? Let us know in the comments section below.