02/25/26 11:34:00
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02/25 11:33 CST Cal Raleigh not focused on trying for another 60-homer season
in Seattle
Cal Raleigh not focused on trying for another 60-homer season in Seattle
PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) --- Cal Raleigh has already gone deep this spring, yet the
switch-hitting Seattle Mariners catcher isn't focused on trying to hit 60 home
runs again this season.
Raleigh, who had an MLB-leading 60 homers last year, hit a 427-foot homer
against the Chicago White Sox in an exhibition game Tuesday. His first spring
homer came in his third game.
"I think the elephant in the room is 60 home runs. That's not something I'm
setting out to do," Raleigh told Seattle Sports this week. "To me, I'm just
trying to be as consistent as possible, trying to do what I did last year."
His 60 homers last season were the most for a player who was primarily a
catcher, having started 119 games behind the plate and another 38 at designated
hitter. The 29-year-old Raleigh, nicknamed "Big Dumper," also had a career-high
125 RBIs and finished second in the American League MVP voting behind New York
Yankees slugger and third-time winner Aaron Judge.
Judge and Raleigh are both set to play for Team USA in the World Baseball
Classic, which begins pool play next week. Judge set the AL record with 62 home
runs in 2022.
They are among only seven players with a 60-homer season, and Mark McGwire and
Sammy Sosa are the only ones to do so in consecutive seasons (1998 and 1999).
McGwire and Sosa are the only players with multiple 60-homer seasons, and Sosa
had a third in 2001.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
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