‘The Kid’ has company: Raleigh’s 56th HR ties Griffey Jr. in Mariners record books
Make room, Junior.
‘The Kid’ has company in Mariners lore as Cal Raleigh’s historic season rolls on.
Seattle’s All-Star catcher and American League MVP candidate launched his 55th and 56th home runs in Tuesday night’s series opener with the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, matching Ken Griffey Jr.’s single-season Mariners record set twice in 1997-98.
When he met with reporters in Kansas City, Raleigh hadn’t checked his phone — but there’s probably a text from Junior waiting.
“I don’t know,” he smiled. “I’m sure I have a text from him or something.”
‘Big Dumper’ homered from both sides of the plate for the fifth time of his career Tuesday night, etching new history with each swing: No. 55 passed New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle for the most in MLB history by a switch-hitter, a low changeup golfed inside the right field foul pole.
No. 56 tied ‘The Kid’ in Seattle history books, another changeup rocketed to straightaway center field on a warm, Kansas City evening. Raleigh’s next home run would eclipse Griffey Jr. for the most in single-season Mariners history altogether, but for now, both have a seat at the table.
“It’s very cool,” Raleigh said. “I’m very humbled by it. It’s a crazy kind of thing I never thought would happen. I’m just taking it day by day, pitch by pitch. Like I said before, I’m just really enjoying this ride with these guys and trying to finish this thing strong.”
The Mariners remain the hottest team in baseball, thanks in part to Raleigh’s magic. Seattle’s 12-5 win over the Royals extended their season-best win streak to 10 games, enough to surge beyond the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. They control their own destiny in pursuit of their first playoff appearance since 2022 and first division crown since 2001.
Raleigh entered Tuesday’s opener in Kansas City atop MLB’s home run leaderboard while ranking third in RBI (115) and slugging percentage (.577), fifth in OPS (.936), and second in FanGraphs WAR (8.1).
What chance does the Platinum Glove-winning backstop have to win his first AL MVP award? FanDuel Sportsbook offers Raleigh at +500, or 5/1 — second only to Yankees frontrunner Aaron Judge (-900). It’s a two-man race with no other players holding odds better than 150/1.
“It seems like it’s just one thing after another for (Cal),” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “In some ways, I don’t know if it’s poetic license or whatever you want to call it. But to take a (Logan Gilbert pitch) off the neck in the half-inning before and then come out and hit a homer and then hit another one later, that’s the kind of year, I think in some ways, that Cal has had. He’s just a grinder, and he’s been unbelievable.”
Gilbert threw 5.2 solid innings, allowing six hits and two runs (two earned) with one walk and five strikeouts. Mariners designated hitter Dominic Canzone went 5-for-5 with three home runs and four RBI.
MARINERS APPROACH POSTSEASON BERTH
Eleven regular-season games remain, but Seattle can smell October.
The Mariners are closing in on their first postseason berth since 2022, when Raleigh snapped Seattle’s 21-year playoff drought with a walk-off home run against the Oakland Athletics on the night of Sept. 30 — considered one of the most iconic swings in franchise history.
The race for the American League West is expected to go down to the wire, but Seattle could secure an AL Wild Card allocation, at least, in a matter of days.
So what are the odds?
Very, very good.
Here’s what FanGraphs says:
To make the playoffs: 98.5 percent
To win the AL West: 71.8 percent
To win the AL pennant: 23.3 percent
To win the World Series: 12.7 percent
Seattle’s 12.7 percent chance to win the World Series is the best of any American League club. Only the National League’s Los Angeles Dodgers (14.5 percent) have better odds.
The Mariners’ magic number — the combined number of Mariners wins and Cleveland (nearest competitor) losses required to clinch a postseason berth — is eight.
And all of it sets up a crucial, three-game weekend series in Houston from Sept. 19-21, a matchup between bitter rivals that could ultimately decide the AL West title. The Mariners enter Wednesday with a thin, 0.5-game cushion over the Astros.
The Mariners conclude their season at home with a six-game homestand against the Colorado Rockies (Sept. 23-25) and Los Angeles Dodgers (Sept. 26-28), potential clinch games pending the results of their final road trip.
EMERSON HOMERS IN RAINIERS DEBUT
Colt Emerson is skyrocketing through the minor league ranks. The No. 1 prospect in Seattle’s farm system played just 34 games for Double-A Arkansas before the Mariners promoted him Monday to Triple-A Tacoma — and the 20-year-old’s big day at Cheney Stadium proved why.
Tacoma’s new shortstop launched a three-run homer in his Triple-A debut on Tuesday afternoon, a 396-foot moonshot that crashed into Cheney’s right field light tower and pulled the Rainiers within two runs of Triple-A Oklahoma City in a 7-5 loss.
Emerson finished 1-for-4 with a strikeout and the dramatic, three-run blast.
Infielder Samad Taylor stole his 93rd stolen base in a Tacoma uniform (2024-25), setting a new all-time Rainiers record.
Emerson was selected 22nd overall by Seattle in the first round of the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft, possessing “the best hit tool in the Mariners system” per MLB Pipeline. Scouts are bullish on his ability to play third base at the major league level, expected to make his Mariners debut in 2026.
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 7:58 PM with the headline "‘The Kid’ has company: Raleigh’s 56th HR ties Griffey Jr. in Mariners record books."
