(Editor’s note: Keep up with Cal Raleigh’s pursuit of history with our updated home run tracker.)
Cal Raleigh has seen his torrid home run pace slow down since becoming the first catcher to win the Home Run Derby. But there’s still time for the former Florida State star to turn it back on and break some records.
The switch-hitting slugger better known as “The Big Dumper” got some tater-mashing help when the Seattle Mariners added Eugenio Suarez before the trade deadline at the end of July. The addition of Suarez gives the Mariners two of the top five home run leaders in MLB this season. Raleigh went deep in Suarez’s first game with his new club, but he hasn’t mashed another in the six games since … until he gave the Mariners the lead with a three-run jack in the bottom of the eighth Aug. 8.
It tracks with his declining pace since belting 54 dingers during his Home Run Derby victory on July 15. He entered the All-Star break just one home run behind the record pace set by Barry Bonds, but since play resumed July 18, Raleigh had just four bombs in 19 games. Catching Bonds for the all-time single-season record is a near impossibility now, and breaking Aaron Judge’s AL record is starting to slip away as well.
But there’s still time. This isn’t Raleigh’s longest power outage of the season — he hit four homers over 20 games between April 14 and May 11, during which he went eight games without a big fly — and there are still a little less than two months of games to play. The former FSU backstop remains a frontrunner to win MVP and chase down history.
We’re monitoring the former Seminole’s home run pace over the rest of the season. Here’s everything you need to know about Raleigh’s home run total and where he stands on his pursuit of history, as well as when his Mariners play next, as well as how to watch:
How many home runs does Cal Raleigh have?
Entering play Aug. 9, Cal Raleigh has 43 home runs through 114 games, leading the majors. His most recent home run came in the eighth inning Aug. 8 against Griffin Jax of the Tampa Bay Rays.
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What is the single-season home run record?
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants set the record in 2001 with 73 home runs. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees holds the American League record with 62 homers in 2022. Here are some of the other single-season records Cal Raleigh is chasing:
Why is Cal Raleigh called the Big Dumper?
It’s simple: He’s got a big butt. The nickname came from Jarred Kelenic when the two were Mariners prospects practicing with the big-league club during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. As Raleigh explained with Mookie Betts in an episode of “On Base,” Kelenic responded to the catcher’s call-up to the majors in 2021 with “Big dumper to the show,” and fellow players and fans thought it was hilarious.
“Now nobody calls me Cal,” Raleigh said. “It’s just Dumper, Dump, Big Dump.”
Raleigh has taken it all in good humor, appearing in comedic Mariners Commercials for “Big Dumper Trucking” and with the team marketing his platinum glove bobblehead from the reverse angle. His mom is less pleased with it, though.
Home run record pace: Will Cal Raleigh break home run record?
Cal Raleigh has hit 43 home runs over the team’s 117 games through Aug. 8. Here’s how his pace compares with other record-setters:
Seattle Mariners schedule
Here’s a look at the upcoming games for Cal Raleigh and the Mariners. All times Eastern:
MLB home run leaders
Stats current through Aug. 8 games:
MLB home run record
Here are the best home run seasons in MLB history:
AL home run record
Here are the best home run seasons in American League history:
Cal Raleigh stats
Stats current through Aug. 8 games, along with his rankings among league batters in parentheses:
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Cal Raleigh home run tracker: Former FSU baseball star hit 43 homers through August 8
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
