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Seattle Mariners

Mariners’ Cal Raleigh finishes second in AL MVP race

Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh finished a close second in American League MVP voting behind Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge on Thursday. (Stephen Brashear/Imagn Images)
By Ryan Divish Seattle Times

Cal Raleigh produced the single greatest season for a catcher in MLB history, putting up historical numbers at the plate while enduring the physical beating of playing behind and embracing the many responsibilities that come with playing baseball’s toughest positions.

He also led the Mariners to their first American League West championship and their second postseason appearance since 2001. His value to his team and its success is not calculable by numbers or metrics. His leadership and presence cannot be quantified.

Despite a performance that likely will not ever be replicated or surpassed by a catcher, it was not good enough to win the American League Most Valuable Player award.

For the second straight season and the third time in his career, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was named the AL MVP.

Raleigh’s record-setting season, included a .247/.359/.589 slash line in 705 plate appearances with an MLB-leading 60 homers and 125 RBI, which were the most in the American League. He is one of seven players in MLB history to hit 60 homers in a season. Raleigh has surpassed Salvador Perez’s record for most homers in a season by a catcher (48) as well as Mickey Mantle’s record of most homers in a season by a switch-hitter (54).

Raleigh finished with 20-plus homers from each side of the plate, which no switch-hitter had done in MLB history. He had 11 games where he hit multiple homers, which tied an MLB record shared by Hank Greenberg of the Tigers (1938), Sammy Sosa of the Cubs (1993) and Aaron Judge of the Yankees (2022).

He played in 159 of the 162 games in the regular season, appearing in 121 games at catcher, starting 119 of them. He led the American League with 1,072 innings caught and never allowed a passed ball during the regular season. Raleigh started 38 games as the designated hitter.

Judge was a juggernaut at the plate, putting together one of the most productive offensive seasons in the last few decades. He led MLB with a .331 batting average that included 30 doubles, two triples, 53 homers and 114 RBI. He is just the third player in MLB history to hit at least 50 home runs and win a batting title in the same season, joining Mickey Mantle (1956) and Jimmie Foxx (1938). The 53 homers were the most by any player to also win a batting title.

Besides winning the batting title, he also led the Majors in on-base percentage (.457), slugging percentage (.688), OPS (1.144), times on base (310), intentional walks (36) and FanGraphs WAR (10.1). He led the AL in runs (137), total bases (372), walks (124) and extra-base hits (85).

Judged played in 152 games this season, missing a stretch of games in late July due to a flexor strain in his right elbow. He played in 95 games in right field and 56 games at designated hitter. He played in the field only 15 games after the IL stint.

Ballots, submitted before the start of the postseason, were cast by two writers in each American League city. They are tabulated on a system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.

This story will be updated.