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Cal Raleigh Passes Ken Griffey Jr. for Mariners’ Single-Season Home Run Record

Cal Raleigh made history on Saturday night, cementing his name in the Seattle Mariners’ record books. The catcher launched his 57th home run of the season in a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros, passing franchise legend Ken Griffey Jr. for the single-season home run record.

With Seattle leading 2-0 in the third inning, Raleigh connected on a 95.5 mph sinker from left-hander Framber Valdez, sending it into the bullpen in right-center field. The blast gave the Mariners a 3-0 lead and pushed Raleigh past Griffey’s record of 56 home runs, set in both 1997 and 1998.

Griffey, a Hall of Famer and 13-time All-Star who spent most of his career in Seattle, had long stood as the standard-bearer for power hitting in the franchise. Now, Raleigh has claimed the record, his 57 homers tied for the 17th-most in a single season in MLB history.

Raleigh tied the Mariners’ record earlier in the week during a 12-5 win over the Kansas City Royals, a game in which he also became the first switch-hitter in MLB history to hit more than 55 home runs in a season. He had already broken Mickey Mantle’s long-standing MLB record for home runs by a switch-hitter (54 in 1961) and surpassed Salvador Perez’s catcher record (48 in 2021).

Raleigh is having a career year at the plate, leading the majors in home runs while posting a .949 OPS with 22 doubles, 94 walks, and 119 RBI.

Raleigh’s milestone came in a pivotal moment for Seattle, as the team entered Saturday with just a one-game lead over Houston in the AL West. With the win, the Mariners improved to 86-69 and pushed their lead to two games as they continue their pursuit of the franchise’s first division title since 2001.

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