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Seattle Mariners star catcher Cal Raleigh has slugged his way into the history books.
Raleigh hit his 55th and 56th home runs of the season during the Mariners’ 12-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium. Raleigh broke New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle’s record for most home runs by a switch-hitter in a single season.
Raleigh, 28, also tied Mariners great Ken Griffey Jr. for most home runs in a single season in franchise history.
The All-Star catcher hit his 55th home run from the left side of the plate. He demolished Royals pitcher Michael Wacha’s 79-mph curveball deep into the right-field seats to put the Mariners up 4-0 in the top of the third inning.
His second home run of the game came in the fourth inning, this time from the right side of the plate. Raleigh laced Royals pitcher Daniel Lynch IV’s changeup over the center-field wall to put the Mariners up 9-0.
“It’s really cool. I’m humbled by it. A crazy kind of thing I never thought would happen,” Raleigh said, standing inside a tunnel beneath Kauffman Stadium after his 20th career multi-homer game and his 10th this season. “Just taking it day-by-day, pitch-by-pitch. Really enjoying every day with these guys, and just trying to finish the season strong.”
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Raleigh and Yankees star Aaron Judge are the favorites for the American League MVP award.
The Mariners’ catcher has a .247 batting average, 118 RBI and 14 stolen bases to go along with his 56 home runs.
The Mariners (83-68) hold a narrow half-game lead in the American League West over the Houston Astros (83-69).
The Mariners will look to maintain their division lead when they take on the Royals (75-76) in the second game of their three-game series at 7:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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