Cal Raleigh of Cullowhee, North Carolina set the Mariners franchise record for most home runs in a single season on Saturday. He accomplished the feat in a 6-4 Mariners win over the Houston Astros at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas. The Seattle catcher now has 57 home runs, which broke the record previously set by Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. of Donora, Pennsylvania. Griffey Jr. had 56 home runs in 1997 and again in 1998.
Inside look at Raleigh’s home run
Raleigh’s dinger was in the top of the third inning and put the Mariners up 3-0 at the time. The solo shot went 399 feet to right center field and came off of Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez. It was a tough outing for Valdez, as he gave up five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Mariners hang on to win
Seattle had a commanding 6-0 lead in the contest before Houston had a seventh inning grand slam from shortstop Jeremy Pena of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to make things interesting. However, the Mariners hung on to win by two runs thanks to a quality start from starting pitcher George Kirby of Rye, New York, who threw six shutout innings and had perfect control, as he had seven strikeouts to zero walks. Meanwhile, Mariners relief pitchers Eduard Bazardo of Maracay, Venezuela and Gabe Speier of Santa Barbara, California each had a hold, and closer Andres Munoz of Los Mochis, Mexico has his 37th save of the season.
Where does Raleigh rank among the most home runs in a season?
Raleigh has the 17th most home runs by a player in a single season. Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants has the record as he had 73 home runs in the 2001 MLB regular season.
Raleigh’s statistics in 2025
Raleigh is batting .246 with 57 home runs and 119 runs batted in. He leads the Major Leagues in batting average and the American League in runs batted in. Raleigh is also batting .246 with 106 runs scored with 140 hits, 22 doubles, 14 stolen bases, 95 walks, 333 total bases, three sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .361 and a slugging percentage of .586 in 152 games, 568 at bats and 674 plate appearances.
Mariners lead AL West
Seattle has a record of 86 wins and 69 losses for a winning percentage of .555. They lead the Houston Astros by two full games with eight days left in the 2025 MLB regular season.
