Mariners' Cal Raleigh on pace for best catcher season in MLB history

Billy Heyen

Mariners' Cal Raleigh on pace for best catcher season in MLB history image

Cal Raleigh has turned into a superstar.

The Seattle Mariners' catcher is on pace to have the best season by a catcher in MLB history. Seriously.

Raleigh's first feat to watch for is simply in his availability. Entering Friday, he has played in every one of the Mariners' 48 games, catching 38 and at DH in 10.

No catcher has ever played all 162, per ESPN's Paul Hembekides.

Raleigh might also finish with the most powerful hitting season a catcher has ever had.

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So far, Raleigh is batting .253 with a .371 on-base percentage. He has 16 home runs and 33 RBI, and he's also the reigning Platinum Glove Award winner, showing he can do it on both sides of the ball.

Check out Raleigh's pace stats for if he plays 162 games at these statistical rates:

  • 54 home runs
  • 111 RBI
  • 108 runs
  • 108 walks
  • 340 total bases
  • 9.5 fWAR

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The catcher single-season record for home runs is Salvador Perez's 48 back in 2021.

Only three catchers have ever had a 9.0 WAR season: Buster Posey, Johnny Bench and Mike Piazza.

If Raleigh keeps this up, it'll officially be a legendary season for the Mariners' beloved backstop.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle