Cal Raleigh swipes his way to another milestone

Cal Raleigh didn’t hit home run No. 39, but he still managed to cap his historic first half with yet another milestone.

This time, it came on the base paths.

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Raleigh picked up his 10th steal of the season in the ninth inning of the Seattle Mariners’ 8-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon. It came on a double steal, with Julio Rodríguez swiping third base and Raleigh taking second. Detroit catcher Dillon Dingler’s throw sailed wide of third baseman Zach McKinstry, which allowed Rodríguez to score and Raleigh to advance to third.

With the stolen base, Raleigh heads into the All-Star break with an MLB-leading 38 homers and 10 steals.

That makes Raleigh just the seventh player in MLB history to reach the 30-10 mark before the All-Star break, according to Stathead. The others are Shohei Ohtani (2021, 2023, 2025), Reggie Jackson (1969), Sammy Sosa (1998), Albert Pujols (2009), Christian Yelich (2019) and Brady Anderson (1996).

Raleigh and Jackson – who had 37 homers and 10 steals over the first half of 1969 – are the only players to reach the 35-10 mark before the Midsummer Classic.

Of course, what separates Raleigh from the rest of those players is that he’s a catcher – a position not known for speed.

Raleigh on Sunday became just the third primary catcher in MLB history with at least 30 homers and 10 steals over the course of an entire season.

The only other primary catchers to reach the 30-10 mark in a season are Carlton Fisk (37 homers and 17 steals in 1985) and Iván Rodríguez (35 homers and 25 steals in 1999). It took Raleigh just 94 games to reach the 30-10 mark, while it took Fisk 100 games and Rodríguez 119 games.

Related: M’s star Cal Raleigh hits two more HRs, sets more records

Raleigh came within one home run of tying Barry Bonds’ first-half MLB record of 39 homers before the All-Star break. Bonds set that mark in 2001, the same year he finished with an MLB-record 73 homers.

Raleigh broke the American League first-half home run record on Friday night, when he blasted his 37th and 38th homers of the season. The previous AL first-half home run record was 37, held by Chris Davis (2013) and Jackson (1969).

It’s all part of a sensational first half of the season for Raleigh, who enters the All-Star break three homers ahead of New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and six ahead of Ohtani in the MLB home run race.

Raleigh is currently on pace for 64 home runs, which would break Judge’s AL single-season record of 62 in 2022. He’s also on track to shatter the MLB record for most homers by a catcher, which Kansas City Royals slugger Salvador Perez set with 48 in 2021.

Raleigh is slashing .259/.376/.634 with a 1.010 OPS this year. The reigning AL Platinum Glove Award winner ranks second in the majors in both slugging percentage and OPS, trailing Judge in both categories.

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