Cal Raleigh Hits 60 Home Runs and the Mariners Clinch the Division
On a memorable night, Cal Raleigh, star player for the Seattle Mariners, hit his 59th and 60th home runs, leading the league in this statistic. The team secured the American League West Division title with a resounding 9-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Raleigh’s first home run was a solo shot in the first inning, followed by another in the eighth, also solo, demonstrating his exceptional power at the plate. The Mariners, who have yet to participate in a World Series, celebrate their fourth divisional title in 49 years of history and the first since 2001, when they set an American League record with 116 wins.Raleigh highlighted the importance of this achievement, recalling that it has been more than 20 years since the team achieved something similar, and emphasizing the special meaning for the group, the organization, and the city. The left-handed batter hit the first home run against Tanner Gordon, sending the ball to right field, reaching the top of T-Mobile Park. The second hit, also from the left side, was against Angel Chivilli. This season, Raleigh has achieved 11 games with multiple home runs, tying the MLB record shared with Aaron Judge (2022), Hank Greenberg (1938), and Sammy Sosa. With four games remaining in the regular season, Raleigh has the opportunity to surpass the home run record in an American League season, currently held by Aaron Judge, who hit 62 home runs in 2022. These recent home runs come just four days after Raleigh surpassed Ken Griffey Jr. as the player with the most home runs in a season in franchise history, with his 57th home run. In addition, Raleigh surpassed the MLB record of 54 home runs for a switch-hitter, set by Mickey Mantle in 1961. He also set the home run record for a catcher in a season, surpassing Salvador Perez’s 48 in 2021. Raleigh leads Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies by four home runs and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers by seven.Doing it this way, on this night, in front of these fans, was really great.
Cal Raleigh
