Latest news with #Cal Raleigh
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mariners' Cal Raleigh joins historic company with grand slam vs. Tigers
The post Mariners' Cal Raleigh joins historic company with grand slam vs. Tigers appeared first on ClutchPoints. Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh continues to rewrite the record books with a historic first half of the 2025 MLB season. In the Mariners' 12-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers, Raleigh slugged two home runs, including a grand slam in the ninth inning, bringing his season total to 38 home runs, just one shy of Barry Bonds' all-time record of 39 before the All-Star break set in 2001. Raleigh's performance Friday night at Comerica Park was phenomenal. Facing Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and a team with the best record in the American League, the Mariners overcame a late-night arrival and recent sweep by the Yankees to secure a crucial win. Raleigh's 37th home run came in the eighth inning off Tyler Holton, a 383-foot solo shot with an exit velocity of 98.1 mph. His 38th was a grand slam off Brant Hurter, traveling 405 feet at 107.1 mph, putting the game out of reach. The switch-hitting All-Star has now homered from the right side of the plate 16 times this season and has hit multiple home runs in eight games, tying a Mariners franchise record held by Ken Griffey Jr. and matching Mickey Mantle's MLB record for most multi-homer games in a season by a switch-hitter. With 38 home runs, Raleigh not only leads all of Major League Baseball in homers but also in RBIs, tallying 81 through 94 games. He joins Yankees slugger Aaron Judge as the only two players with an OPS over 1.000 this season, Raleigh currently holds a .264/.377/.645 slash line, good for a 1.022 OPS. Raleigh's power surge this season has already placed him among the best. He passed Hall of Famer Johnny Bench for the most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break with his 28th and 29th homers on June 20. He has now surpassed legends such as Chris Davis (37 in 2013), Mark McGwire (37 in 1998), and Reggie Jackson (37 in 1969) for the second-most home runs in the first half of a season. Friday's grand slam was the latest milestone in a breakout year that saw Raleigh sign a six-year, $105 million contract and earn a starting spot in the 2025 All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. He has six hits over his last 10 games, all home runs. The Mariners are right in the thick of the playoff hunt, sitting at 49-45 and holding down second place in the AL West, and Cal Raleigh has been a big reason for that. With just two games left before the All-Star break, he's got a real shot at topping Barry Bonds' legendary first-half home run record. Related: Mariners' Cal Raleigh has perfect reaction to latest HR feat Related: Mariners' Cal Raleigh puts Tigers away with home runs No. 37, 38 this season
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
A Red Sox-Cubs World Series? We'd have Fenway, Wrigley and so much more
It's not just Cal Raleigh and Kyle Schwarber who've been delivering home run swagger this week. How about that home run from the MLB schedule makers? Right out of the post-All-Star Game gate, we're going to have the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs in a three-game weekend series at Wrigley Field. True, interleague play has been around in some form since 1997, which means it's no longer sparkly and exciting in and of itself. But Red Sox-Cubs is different, partly because of each team's ancient and lovely ballpark but also because it's two franchises that endured decades and decades of bad luck, bad hops and bad karma before finally winning championships. Advertisement The bonus is that this series won't be limited to a throwdown as to whether Wrigley or Boston's Fenway Park is the better of the two ancient ballyards. For though Fenway-versus-Wrigley is a big part of any Red Sox-Cubs discussion, this time it's the actual talent of the clubs that stands out. The Cubs are in first place in the National League Central. They've got Pete Crow-Armstrong, the dazzling 23-year-old who's already hit 25 home runs and knocked in 71 runs. And they have journeyman lefty Matthew Boyd, who has chosen 2025 and Chicago's North Side to deliver both a career year and a feel-good story. He's 10-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 19 starts playing for the team his late grandfather rooted for back in the day. The Red Sox, written off by many (including me!) just weeks ago, take a 10-game winning streak into the series, which kicks off with a Friday matinee. The Red Sox didn't merely 'win' those 10 straight games. They screamed them from a mountaintop, is what they did. It began with an 11-2 victory over the Washington Nationals in which shortstop Trevor Story collected four hits and knocked in four runs. There was a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, thanks to Ceddanne Rafaela's two-run, walk-off home run. NESN's Dave O'Brien delivered a home run call that was of such moment-capturing brilliance that Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman felt compelled to mention it when he was interviewed on the pregame show the next day. And later that day was when Red Sox lefty Garrett Crochet pitched a three-hit shutout in Boston's 1-0 victory over the Rays. CEDDANNE RAFAELA HITS IT OUT OF FENWAY 😤 THE @REDSOX ARE WALK-OFF WINNERS! — MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2025 The Red Sox? Dead? Not only are they not dead, it's as though magic wackadoo dust has altered the senses of everyone from casual fans to press box know-it-alls. How else to explain all these people who suddenly are talking about the Red Sox playing in the World Series? As in this year's World Series. Advertisement To roll out just one example, let's offer up The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. 'They are a team that, frankly, might be in the World Series if they make the right moves here,' said Rosenthal, discussing the trade deadline on the 'Fair Territory' podcast. But if the very thought of the Red Sox continuing to play graceful baseball and making it to the World Series sounds far-fetched, how about something that's, um, farrer-fetched? How about we get that World Series we've been waiting for since 1918? Yep: How about we get a 2025 World Series between the Red Sox and Cubs? Admittedly, a Red Sox-Cubs World Series would have had more snap, crackle and pop had the Sox been looking for their first championship since 1918 and the Cubs their first championship since 1908. It looked like we might have had one in 2003, when the Red Sox were playing the New York Yankees in the ALCS and the Cubs were playing the Florida Marlins in the NLCS. MLB commissioner Bud Selig, appearing on Boston all-sports station WEEI during the Sox-Yankees series, was practically salivating over a Red Sox-Cubs World Series. Alas, the world wasn't ready. That's why Steve Bartman was sent by the baseball gods to derail the Cubs in Game 6 of the NLCS. Those same gods sent cosmic messages to Red Sox manager Grady Little with instructions to leave Pedro Martínez on the mound in Game 7 of the ALCS — even after the Dominican Dandy had surpassed the dreaded 100-pitch threshold. (Which, at that stage in Pedro's career, was when every opposing hitter turned into Ty Cobb.) Instead of Red Sox-Cubs in the 2003 World Series, it was Yankees-Marlins. The Marlins took out the Yankees in six games. Not that anyone in Boston or Chicago noticed, given all the screaming and finger-pointing that was going on in those towns. It used to be said the world would come to an end if the Red Sox and Cubs were to play in the World Series. A clever line in its time, it's no longer relevant. The Red Sox eventually won the World Series in 2004 for their first championship since beating the Cubs 86 years earlier. As in … 1918. As for the modern-day Cubs, the 2016 crew won the franchise's first World Series since 1908 with a Game 7, 10-inning, 8-7 victory over Cleveland. Advertisement But a Red Sox-Cubs World Series, even without the world-coming-to-an-end warning label, would be must-see TV. The teams do have exciting players. And to get back to the ballparks, it would be impossible not to take notice of a 2025 World Series played at ballparks that were built for people born in the 19th century. There used to be this unwritten 'no dead guys' rule in baseball, the idea being that MLB should focus on today's stars and stop dredging up players from the past. The anecdotal evidence suggests baseball no longer abides by that unwritten rule. MLB certainly celebrates and promotes its megastars of today — Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, just to pick two players, are gifts from marketing heaven — but legends from yesteryear are being reworked into the discussion. Witness the manner in which players from the old Negro Leagues have been granted posthumous major-league status. In 2022, the documentary 'It Ain't Over,' about the life of the late Yankees legend Yogi Berra, was critically acclaimed. And, wow, how about that tribute to the late Hank Aaron during the All-Star Game? I tell you all that so I can tell you this: A Red Sox-Cubs World Series would present an opportunity to re-celebrate two late legends who remain the faces of their franchises. That's Ted Williams of the Red Sox and Ernie Banks of the Cubs, of course. Ted Williams and Ernie Banks at the 500 Home Run hitters reunion in 1996. — Baseball's Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) May 16, 2025 If those added storylines are not enough, there's so much more. From Hollywood, it'd be Cubs fans Bill Murray and John Cusack versus Red Sox fans Matt Damon and the Affleck boys, Ben and Casey. Political punditry could give us Sox fans Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor ('Crooked Media') ganging up on Cubs fan David Axelrod (CNN). We could write about how Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer started his front-office career with the Red Sox, and how Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow started his front-office career with the Cubs. Theo Epstein, who built World Series-winning rosters for the Red Sox and Cubs, would be worthy of throwing out a first pitch for both teams. We could go on and on here, but it all comes back to this: The Red Sox and Cubs have exciting players and are playing fine baseball. We'll see that this weekend. Perhaps we'll see more of it in October. (Photo of Ceddanne Rafaela: Brian Fluharty / Getty Images)
Washington Post
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Mariners' Cal Raleigh breaks AL record with 38 homers before the All-Star break
DETROIT — Cal Raleigh hit his 37th and 38th home runs in Seattle's 12-3 victory over Detroit on Friday night to move within one of Barry Bonds' 2001 major league record for homers before the All-Star break. Raleigh hit a solo homer off former teammate Tyler Holton in the eighth to tie the American League record of 37 set by Reggie Jackson in 1969 and matched by Chris Davis in 2013.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Yankees' Aaron Judge matches all-time franchise record with 34th home run
The post Yankees' Aaron Judge matches all-time franchise record with 34th home run appeared first on ClutchPoints. Neither Aaron Judge nor Cal Raleigh have the luxury of worrying about the American League MVP race right now, as their respective ballclubs try to strengthen their status in the playoff picture. However, if these two star sluggers manage to make history while also helping their teams, then they will gladly rake in the milestones. Both players left their mark on the scoreboard in Tuesday's game between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, but only Judge got to celebrate a 10-3 win. Advertisement The future Hall of Famer further entrenched himself in pinstripes lore, hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning to stretch his squad's lead to 7-0. He hit four dingers in the last week, but this latest one vaults him into rarefied air. What is even more astounding, however, is that he was already the only one breathing said air. Judge's 34 homers are tied for the most ever hit by a Yankees player before the All-Star break, per New York Yankees Stats, matching the record he set just last year. The California native also has the next highest total, which he compiled en route to breaking Roger Maris' longstanding AL homer record in 2022. Judge's unmatched offensive excellence has allowed him to win two MVPs and become one of the greatest of his generation. He continues to raise the bar while representing the most accomplished franchise the baseball world has ever known, a feat that is extremely difficult to grasp when recalling all the legends who have shined in The Bronx. But Aaron Judge will not ascend into unquestioned Yankees immortality until he helps the team win a World Series championship. Will Aaron Judge obtain October redemption and lead Yankees back to the top? A ring is the bare minimum that fans expect from anyone who is a top guy of this franchise. Fair or not, that is the standard Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Derek Jeter have set. Although this sport relies heavily on a collective effort, the captain is supposed to produce on the big stage. Judge has a .205 batting average and a middling .752 OPS in 58 playoff games. He can flip the narrative in 2025, however. Advertisement The 33-year-old belted 62 home runs in 2022 and posted a 1.159 OPS last season, but he is in the midst of what could be his masterpiece. Judge paces MLB with a .360 batting average, .467 on-base percentage, .738 slugging percentage and 1.205 OPS. He is tied for the AL's RBI lead with Cal Raleigh and trails the Mariners catcher by only two in the long ball department. The Triple Crown chase is alive and well. Considering that No. 99 has somehow leveled up, perhaps he will also boost his October reputation. Doing so would give Aaron Judge the chance to enjoy the greatest season of all-time. But he cannot do it alone. Fresh off their Tuesday night barrage, the Yankees will attempt to win three in a row for the first time since June 12. Related: Fan proposes behind home plate during Yankees-Mariners game Advertisement Related: Yankees' Austin Wells keeps hot streak alive with bomb vs. Mariners
Al Arabiya
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Mariners' cal raleigh breaks al record with 38 homers before the all-star break
Cal Raleigh hit his 37th and 38th home runs in Seattle's 12-3 victory over Detroit on Friday night to move within one of Barry Bonds's 2001 major league record for homers before the All-Star break. Raleigh hit a solo homer off former teammate Tyler Holton in the eighth to tie the American League record of 37 set by Reggie Jackson in 1969 and matched by Chris Davis in 2013. '(Holton) and I are really good friends and I've caught a lot of his pitches,' said Raleigh, who was in the lineup as the designated hitter instead of at catcher. 'I don't think that helped much but I'm sure he's not very happy with me.' Raleigh hit a grand slam off Brant Hurter in the ninth. 'I didn't even know it was a record until just now,' Raleigh said. 'I don't have words for it I guess. I'm just very grateful and thankful.' Seattle has two games left in Detroit before the break. 'Cal Raleigh… this is just unbelievable,' Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. 'He's already set the AL record and now he's only one short of Barry. There are two games so who knows?' Raleigh hit 10 homers in March and April, 12 in May, 11 in June and has five in July. 'This is a very boring comment but baseball is all about consistency,' Wilson said. 'This hasn't been one hot streak; he's doing this month after month. That says everything.'
