The Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has already muscled his way into the record books. His 50th home run of the 2025 season made him the first catcher in MLB history to reach that milestone, passing Salvador Perez’s single-season mark for the position. But now comes the bigger question, one CBS Sports insider Mike Axisa asked directly: can Raleigh actually take down Aaron Judge’s 62-homer American League record?
The short answer: it’s possible, but the math is brutal.
Tracking Judge’s Pace
Judge hit 62 home runs in 2022, a season where pitchers eventually refused to give him anything hittable. He had 51 home runs through his team’s first 132 games and finished with 11 more down the stretch. Raleigh sits right behind that pace—50 through 132 games. On paper, he’s tracking with Judge, even one swing away from surpassing where the Yankees’ captain stood at the same point.
But Axisa pointed out the key detail: Judge slowed down not because he lost his swing but because opponents stopped challenging him. Over the Yankees’ final 26 games that year, Judge drew 29 walks. Officially, only six were intentional, though everyone watching knew pitchers were avoiding him. Raleigh hasn’t quite reached that point, but signs are there. According to FanGraphs, only 44.5% of pitches he’s seen this month have been in the strike zone, and that number dips even further when he’s ahead in the count. Translation: pitchers are already pulling the same playbook out for him.
Raleigh will need 13 more home runs in Seattle’s final 30 games to pass Judge. That’s not just tough—it’s historic. The switch-hitting catcher has shown he can do it, though. Earlier this season, he launched 17 in a 30-game span. He’s capable of the run, but asking him to sustain it against teams determined not to be on the wrong side of history is another story.
The Bigger Picture
Even if Raleigh falls short of Judge’s AL record, his 2025 season is already rewriting what we thought a catcher could do offensively. Only Johnny Bench and Perez have led the majors in home runs as full-time catchers. Raleigh is about to join them in that exclusive club, and he’s doing it in a ballpark Statcast ranks among the worst for home run hitters.
There’s also Mickey Mantle’s shadow hanging over this chase. Mantle’s 54 in 1961 remains the single-season record for a switch-hitter, and Raleigh is only four away. That’s a bar he could realistically pass within a week. In other words, even if Judge’s mark remains untouched, Raleigh has a chance to claim another historic record while carrying a playoff-contending Mariners club.
The Mariners’ September schedule could work in his favor. Aside from series against the Astros and Dodgers, Seattle closes with opponents who aren’t playoff-bound. That means Raleigh might see a few more pitches to hit. But as Axisa cautioned, pitchers rarely want to be remembered for serving up a record-breaking blast. Expect plenty of walks in his future.
Regardless of whether 62 falls, the accomplishment stands tall: a catcher with nearly 900 innings behind the plate this season slugging 50 home runs. That’s something the game has never seen. Raleigh doesn’t need Judge’s crown to prove he’s already delivered one of the most remarkable power seasons in baseball history.
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