Cal Raleigh Blasts Dramatic Ninth-Inning Homer to Lift Mariners—Watch the Must-See Highlights

Seattle — Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is rewriting baseball’s 2025 storylines one thunderous swing at a time. The 28-year-old backstop blasted his 40th homer last weekend, becoming the first Major League player to reach the milestone this season and the first catcher in league history to get there before August. Raleigh added No. 41 two days later, reinforcing his status as the most dangerous power threat in the sport right now. Surging power numbers Raleigh’s season slash line sits at .257/.369/.614, and his 41 home runs put him on pace to shatter the single-season record for homers by a catcher, currently held by Salvador Pérez at 48. His isolated power (.357) leads all qualified hitters, and Statcast ranks 27 of his long balls at 110 mph exit velocity or higher, proof that his prodigious power is no fluke. Why the surge? Raleigh credits a winter of mechanical tweaks that shortened his bat path and helped him lift the ball consistently to his pull side. “I tried to marry launch angle with hard contact,” he told reporters after the milestone blast, noting he has focused on attacking fastballs at the top of the zone. Those adjustments have turned “Big Dumper,” already beloved in Seattle for his 2022 Wild-Card-clinching walk-off, into an MVP frontrunner. Impact on the Mariners’ postseason push Seattle’s lineup has often leaned on small-ball tactics inside cavernous T-Mobile Park, but Raleigh’s power binge has flipped that narrative. The club ranks third in the American League in homers, up from ninth a year ago, and sits atop the AL West standings by three games. Manager Scott Servais praised his catcher’s two-way contributions: “He’s controlling a young pitching staff and carrying us offensively—there aren’t many players in the league doing both at that level.” Historic context Reaching 40 home runs before the trade deadline places Raleigh among elite company. Only five catchers have ever eclipsed 40 in a season, and none did so faster than August 31 until now. Even more eye-opening: Raleigh’s 91 home runs since the start of 2023 are 18 more than any other backstop in that span. Awards season buzz With American League MVP chatter intensifying, Raleigh’s closest competitors are Yankees slugger Juan Soto and Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. Voters traditionally favor everyday position players over catchers because of workload, but Raleigh’s 102 games caught already rank top-five in MLB. If he maintains his pace and the Mariners clinch their second division title in franchise history, he could become the first catcher to win AL MVP since Joe Mauer in 2009. Fan-base frenzy and merchandise boom Local retailers report a 220 percent spike in sales of Raleigh jerseys since Opening Day, vaulting him ahead of Julio Rodríguez as the club’s top seller. Social media amplifies the craze: the hashtag #BigDumper has trended in the Pacific Northwest after each of his last four multi-hit games, and his Home Run Derby victory in Arlington drew 11.4 million television viewers, the event’s best number since 2019. What’s next? Seattle enters a critical nine-game stretch against the Astros, Orioles and Yankees—three clubs with top-10 pitching staffs. Scouts say opposing teams are already game-planning heavier breaking-ball usage, but Raleigh is slugging .557 against sliders and curves this season, up nearly 100 points from 2024. If that adjustment holds, the league may simply have to hope his historic run cools on its own. Bottom line Cal Raleigh’s blend of elite power, positional value and leadership makes him one of 2025’s most compelling sports stories. Whether he captures the home-run crown, the MVP trophy or fuels a deep October run, the Mariners catcher has firmly planted himself at the center of the baseball universe—and search traffic—this summer.