Mariners’ Cal Raleigh hits 55th and 56th homers of season to break Mickey Mantle’s record

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh homered in the third inning against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday to surpass Mickey Mantle’s single-season record for long balls by a switch hitter, then hit his 56th homer of the year an inning later to equal the franchise record set by Ken Griffey Jr.

Leading off the third inning, with the visiting Mariners ahead 3-0, Raleigh crushed a Michael Wacha pitch that stayed fair into the right field seats for his 55th home run. The blast pushed Raleigh past Mantle’s mark established in 1961.

Raleigh, who homered from the left side of the plate against Wacha, batted righty against left-hander Daniel Lynch IV in the fourth inning and tied the club record with a two-run drive over the center field wall for a 9-0 Mariners lead. Griffey hit 56 homers for Seattle in both 1997 and 1998.

“My name shouldn’t be in the same sentence with those guys, Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr,” said Raleigh. “I don’t really have words for it. ... I’m sure one day it will set in.”

Raleigh also doubled and scored in the first inning, and Seattle went on to win 12-5.

A first-time All-Star this year, Raleigh leads the major leagues in home runs and paces the American League with 118 RBIs. Earlier this year, he set the single-season record for home runs by a full-time catcher, previously held by Salvador Perez of the Royals, who hit 48 in 20021.

“I think he’s approached this from Day 1 with a ton of humility,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “That’s the kind of person he is. You know, his desire is to win, and that’s what he wants to do here in Seattle is win. And that’s where his drive comes from. And that’s the way he has approached this whole thing. And I think, you know, Cal just continues to check off these milestones, and he does it with such a humble heart. He has handled it all so incredibly well.”

The American League record for homers in a season is 62, set by Yankees slugger Aaron Judge in 2022. Judge is also the last player to hit more than 60 homers in a season. The overall record for MLB is 73, set by Barry Bonds in 2001 during baseball’s steroid era.

The first-place Mariners (83-68) lead the Houston Astros (83-69) by a half-game in the American League West. Seattle have not claimed a division title since 2001.