In the midst of what could amount to the greatest power-hitting season by a catcher in baseball history, Mariners backstop Cal Raleigh leads all of MLB with 46 home runs. He's just two homers away from tying the single-season record for the most long balls by a catcher in baseball history—and eight shy of tying the record for the most belted by a switch-hitter in a single campaign.
And yet, as difficult as it is to believe, Raleigh could have even more home runs this season were it not for one all-too-familiar obstacle that has altered the fates of many tasks: weather.
Raleigh has had seven home runs prevented by wind, including an eighth-inning double in Friday's 11-9 win over the Mets, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com. Not only does he lead the majors in homers, he also leads the majors in would-be homers if not for the wind.
If you're thinking, there's a stat for that?? The answer is yes. Since 2023, Statcast's wealth of technology has included Weather Applied Metrics, which has provided the capability of measuring the effects of wind in-game.
If not for wind, Raleigh would have already broken the catcher record, and would have been just two homers shy of clearing Mickey Mantle's mark for the most home runs hit by a switch-hitter in a season, 54, set in 1961.
As it stands, Raleigh is well on his way to at least owning the greatest slugging season by a catcher, as he still has 39 games remaining in the regular season to swing for the fences.
And hope the wind, which has been especially unkind to him, isn't blowing.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man vs. Wind? Cal Raleigh's Historic Home Run Pursuit Hindered by Nature.
