Debuting new torpedo bat, Cal Raleigh makes Mariners history

Apr 11, 2025, 11:53 PM | Updated: Apr 12, 2025, 12:49 am

Seattle Sports

Cal Raleigh’s first hit with a torpedo bat produced yet another clutch moment in his still-young career.

It also vaulted him into the franchise record books.

Using one of the new bats that have taken MLB by storm, Raleigh launched a tiebreaking two-run homer to right-center field in the eighth inning of the Seattle Mariners’ 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

It was Raleigh’s 96th career home run with the Mariners, which broke the franchise’s all-time record for most homers by a catcher. Mike Zunino held the previous mark at 95. Seattle manager Dan Wilson is third on the list at 88.

“It feels good,” Raleigh said. “Very blessed. There’s been a lot of great players and catchers in this organization. Just never would have thought that’d be a thing. So very happy about it, and just a very cool thing.”

Raleigh’s blast was even more notable given that it came in his first game with a torpedo bat.

The new bats rose to the forefront of the baseball world two weeks ago when the New York Yankees tied an MLB record with 15 homers over their first three games. Nine of those homers came from players using the new style of bat, which features a thicker barrel and a thinner end.

Since then, teams across the league have been ordering shipments of the bats. The Mariners’ first batch arrived prior to Friday’s game.

The switch-hitting Raleigh said he took some swings with his new torpedo bat in the cage before the game. He said he also took a round of batting practice from each side of the plate with his new bat.

“It felt good,” Raleigh said. “The swing felt good. So yeah, it was just like, ‘We got ’em, might as well try ’em.'”

Raleigh’s historic homer came on a 1-0 cutter from Texas reliever Chris Martin. It exited the bat at 109.7 mph and traveled 399 feet.

“I put a good swing on it and he’s a tough pitcher,” said Raleigh, who recently signed a six-year, $105 million contract extension with the Mariners. “He’s had my number in the past. He just left one over the middle.”

Raleigh, who made his MLB debut in July 2021, led all MLB catchers in home runs for each of the past three seasons. He hit 27 homers in 2022, 30 in 2023 and a career-high 34 in 2024. He is the first catcher to lead his position in homers for three straight seasons since Hall of Famer Mike Piazza did so from 1999 to 2002.

Since the start of the 2022 season, Raleigh has hit nine game-tying or go-ahead homers in the seventh inning or later. That’s tied for third-most in the American League over that span, trailing only Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Santander (12) and New York Yankees superstar outfielder Aaron Judge (10).

“Congratulations to Cal on another achievement,” Wilson said. “It’s just one of many that he’s gonna have. And doing it with style tonight, breaking the franchise record and breaking a tie. He’s hit so many big home runs for us already, and that was a big one tonight.”