Cal Raleigh is knocking on Mickey Mantle’s door.
As far as switch-hitters in MLB history go, there’s no one better than the New York Yankees legend. But the Seattle Mariners catcher is trying to keep him company.
Mantle has the two best single-season home run totals in the history of switch-hitting. In 1961, he blasted 54 homers. And in 1956, he hit 52 home runs.
Raleigh, with a home run on Tuesday night, is now up to 51 on the season. This one was yanked left-handed deep and way gone to right field against the Tampa Bay Rays on the road.
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It’s just the latest record Raleigh is chasing.
He’s already the single-season record holder for home runs by a catcher. Salvador Perez had held the previous mark at 48.
Raleigh is one away from tying the mark for home runs hit in a game a player is actually catching in a season. Right now, Javy Lopez holds that mark. The home run on Tuesday night was Raleigh’s 41st hit in a game he was behind the plate. Lopez had 42 of them.
He’s already passed everyone but Mantle on the switch-hitter home run list. Chipper Jones’ career-high was 45 in 1999, and Lance Berkman’s career-high was 45 in 2006.
Raleigh clearly doesn’t yet have the longevity of Mantle, but he’s putting up a peak season among the best in baseball history when you factor in Raleigh’s defense behind the plate and even his surprising double-digit steal total.
It’s certainly a season that will go down in Mariners lore, especially if Raleigh can find a way to beat out Aaron Judge for AL MVP honors.
And if Raleigh can pass Mantle on the switch-hitter home run list, it’ll be hard to not give the Big Dumper the MVP trophy for all the history he’s made.
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