‘Walking, talking history book’ – hear great radio call of latest Cal Raleigh HR

Jul 1, 2025, 11:15 AM | Updated: 12:10 pm

Editor, Seattle Sports

It seems like every time Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh comes to the plate, he has a chance to make history.

Cal Raleigh a big factor in Seattle Mariners’ MLB-leading stat

When Raleigh blasted his 33rd home run of the season Monday night, Mariners Radio Network play-by-play announcer Gary Hill Jr. made the perfect call to encapsulate that feeling the switch-hitting slugger’s season has provided.

Cal Raleigh became just the fifth player in MLB history to reach 33 home runs before the end of June.

🔊 Here's how it sounded on the #Mariners radio network with @GaryHillJr on the call. 🔊 pic.twitter.com/7b1i3MrIuE

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) July 1, 2025

“No. 33 is in the seats. Only two players in major league history have hit more home runs before the end of June than Cal Raleigh. His magical season continues. He’s a walking, talking history book,” Hill exclaimed.

“It is the season of Cal Raleigh.”

It sure is.

For more of Raleigh from Monday’s game, check out the postgame interview on the field with Seattle Sports’ Curtis Rogers in the video at the top of this post.

Watch Raleigh’s homer from Monday night here:

View from the Hill

On Tuesday morning, Hill joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk to talk about what it’s been like to witness the season of Raleigh, who leads all of MLB in both home runs and RBIs (71), and is second behind only Yankees superstar Aaron Judge in slugging (.649) and OPS (1.036).

“I live in this weird space right now of I expect him to constantly hit home runs, yet I seem surprised and amazed that he constantly continues to hit home runs,” Hill said. “It’s like something we’ve never seen before. It’s clearly one of the the greatest first halves in Mariners history. It’s probably the greatest first half a catcher has ever had in Major League Baseball.”

That’s not hyperbole. Raleigh, who won the Platinum Glove in 2024 as the best defender in the American League regardless of position, has leveled up at the plate this year to the point that he broke all-time great Johnny Bench’s record for most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break when he hit his 29th – which was 11 days ago. And by the way, the All-Star break doesn’t start for another 12 days.

Hill related what Raleigh is doing to watching Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. when he was in his prime in Seattle.

“As I’ve talked about it, as someone who grew up here, I had a chance to watch Ken Griffey Jr. at at his best in terms of home runs,” Hill said, “and it felt like he would hit a home run every single day. And if you were watching in person, if you were watching on TV, if you were listening on the radio, you never missed a Griffey plate appearance because it could be the one where he does it again.

“And I feel like for me, Cal has entered that realm. Where, hey, if you’re at the game, that’s not the time to go get popcorn. You’re in the car (when Raleigh comes to the plate), you’re not going into the house yet because you want to hear what Cal’s gonna do next. I feel like he’s really in that realm. It’s just incredible what he’s doing. I’m just enjoying the ride because you never know when these type of seasons come around, and we’re enjoying one of the greatest we’ve ever seen.”

Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with Seattle Mariners Radio Network broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. in the podcast at this link or the player below. Catch Brock and Salk from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.