Seattle Mariners All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh continued his fantastic season on Saturday afternoon, while also further cementing himself as one of the game’s best current power hitters.
With his solo home run in the top of the ninth inning of the Mariners’ 10-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs, Raleigh became the first player in the Majors to reach the 30 home run mark for the season.
It not only gives him a three-home run cushion over Aaron Judge and a five-home run lead over Shohei Ohtani, but it also puts him in some rare company historically.
Among the many historical aspects of his latest home run:
- He is the first switch-hitter to ever hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break, and with the All-Star break still a couple of weeks away, he has a chance to shatter that number.
- He is the fastest player to 30 home runs (only 75 games) since Barry Bonds and Luis Gonzalez in 2001.
- He and Ken Griffey Jr. are the only two Mariners players to ever hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break.
- It is also already his third consecutive 30 home run season, and he is already just four away from matching his career-high (34, which he set a year ago).
