Mariners’ Cal Raleigh wins AL Player of the Week for 2nd time in 3 weeks

Jun 23, 2025, 1:57 PM

Editor, Seattle Sports

There’s a pretty clear front-runner for American League Player of the Month right, and it’s the player who just took AL Player of the Week honors for the second time in the last three weeks: Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.

And unlike Raleigh’s first AL Player of the Week award, which he shared co-honors with Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero on June 2, this time he gets the award all to himself.

Latest MLB All-Star update good for Cal, but not other Mariners

The incredible 2025 campaign by Seattle’s switch-hitting slugger added another ridiculous chapter over the weekend, with Raleigh going a combined 6 for 12 in three games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field with four home runs (including at least one in each game), six RBIs, a stolen base and three walks to just two strikeouts.

That's 31 for Big Dumper! #TridentsUp

🌟https://t.co/Q16mvWsAww 🌟 pic.twitter.com/JKowhFpwwR

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 22, 2025

And yet his big series in Chicago didn’t even include his biggest performance of the week. Last Tuesday, Raleigh went 3 for 4 with a grand slam, a double, a stolen base and six RBIs in an 8-0 win at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park over the Boston Red Sox.

For the week of June 16-22, Raleigh hit .417 (10 for 24) with five homers, two doubles, 10 runs and 12 RBIs.

Making history will definitely earn you AL Player of the Week honors 🙌

🔗 https://t.co/JSPFKhAEoB pic.twitter.com/TxsJNYePDY

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 23, 2025

The National League Player of the Week is a former Mariners teammate of Raleigh’s: Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suárez. He hit .440 with four homers and 10 RBIs over the week.

It’s the fourth AL Player of the Week award won by a Mariners player this season, with Jorge Polanco and Dylan Moore also winning back-to-back in April.

In June, Raleigh is hitting .310 with nine homers, four doubles, 17 runs, 22 RBIs and three stolen bases in 18 games. And the year, he’s hitting .276 with a .383 on-base percentage, a 1.042 OPS, an MLB-leading 31 home runs, and an AL-leading 66 RBIs.

The 28-year-old Raleigh is the front-runner to start at catcher for the AL in the All-Star Game on July 15 in Atlanta. The 2024 AL Platinum Glove winner would be a first-time All-Star, and the first Mariners player to start in an All-Star Game since Nelson Cruz in 2015.

Raleigh has set a number of records for the first half of a season already, even with the All-Star break still three weeks away. He’s hit the most home runs in the first half by a player whose primary position is catcher, and the most home runs by a switch-hitter in the first half. He broke the records set by all-time greats Johnny Bench and Mickey Mantle, respectively.

Only Ken Griffey Jr. has hit more homers in Mariners history before the All-Star break, and Raleigh has plenty of time to catch Junior’s record of 35. Additionally, Raleigh could make a run at Barry Bonds’ MLB record of 39 homers before the end of the first half.

Raleigh is on pace for 66 home runs this year, which would break Aaron Judge’s AL record of 62, the catcher record of 48 owned by Salvador Perez, and the switch-hitter record of 54 by Mantle.

The Mariners (39-37), who are in position for a wild card, begin the middle series of a 10-day road trip Monday at 4:40 p.m. in Minnesota against the Twins (37-40). Radio coverage on Seattle Sports starts at 3:30 with the pregame show.