National media is calling for Cal Raleigh to win AL MVP
Sep 25, 2025, 2:40 PM
Cal Raleigh is the first switch-hitter, the first catcher, and the first Seattle Mariners player ever to hit 60 home runs in a single season.
‘The modern day Bambino!’ Hear Rizzs’ radio call of Cal’s 60th HR
He’s done so while being Seattle’s primary catcher, managing an entire pitching staff, accumulating the bumps and bruises inherent to the position, and playing Platinum Glove-caliber defense.
And perhaps most important is that his magical season is one of the biggest reasons the Mariners can call themselves AL West division champions for the first time in 24 years.
Put all that together, and you have a pretty rock-solid case for Raleigh to be the American League MVP.
Some big names in national media sure think so, even though New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge has better overall offensive numbers that make him a string candidate to win the award for the third time in the last four seasons.
On Thursday, the day after Raleigh hit a pair of homers to reach the elite 60-homer club in a Mariners win that clinched their division title, you seemingly couldn’t throw a rock without hitting somebody on a national media platform stumping for him to win the 2025 AL MVP trophy.
You’ve got Dan Patrick, who is living up to his earlier statement that Raleigh he should be MVP if he hit 60 homers and the M’s won the AL West.
There’s another former SportsCenter anchor, Rich Eisen, who also came out on his show Thursday to call for Raleigh to win over Judge.
In the baseball-specific world, MLB Network analyst and former big leaguer Mark DeRosa said he gives Raleigh the edge in the race because of things he personally values as a baseball mind.
And finally, we have MLB on FOX broadcaster and former All-Star catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who perhaps not surprisingly called on Foul Territory for the backstop in the race to take the honors.
Big Dumper vs. The Judge
Raleigh enters play Thursday with a .248/.361/.598 slash line for a .959 OPS. His 60 homers lead all of baseball, and his 125 RBIs are tops in the AL.
Judge, meanwhile, has a .328/.455/.681 slash line for an 1.136 OPS (all numbers that lead MLB) with 51 homers and 109 RBIs. He also has an MLB-best WAR whether it’s his 9.3 fWAR or 9.6 bWAR, while Raleigh has a 7.2 fWAR and 9.1 bWAR.
But as a right fielder, Judge doesn’t play a demanding defensive position like Raleigh does, and he hasn’t even been on the field as much as Raleigh this year due to injury. Judge has played 148 games, 56 of which have been as a designated hitter. Raleigh has played 155, only 35 of which have been as Seattle’s DH.
For Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, the reason Raleigh deserves to be the MVP is because of how often he’s in the lineup for Seattle. Dipoto shared that in the Mariners clubhouse after Wednesday’s division-clinching win on the Seattle Sports postgame broadcast with M’s insider Shannon Drayer.
“I said to (Raleigh) on the field, if he doesn’t win the MVP, I don’t know why they made the award,” Dipoto said. “He’s been that player for us, in our league. He’s done it every day. I think the most phenomenal of his statistics isn’t the homers, it’s not the RBI – it’s his plate appearances. He shows up every day and he plays.”
President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto speaks with @shannondrayer on how the #Mariners overcame adversity in early September to win 16 of 17 games and the AL West Title. pic.twitter.com/OiiMFMHdTV
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) September 25, 2025
More on the Seattle Mariners
• Dipoto credits a big Julio game as Mariners’ turning point
• Mariners on division title: ‘Fans here deserve that’
• What can division champion Mariners clinch next? A bye to ALDS
• It’s not just Cal Raleigh who led Mariners to AL West crown
• AL West champs! Seattle Mariners clinch first division title since 2001
