Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh was already in the midst of a transcendent season, but now it’s historic. With a pair of early home runs in Sunday’s 11-4 win over the Athletics, Raleigh tied, and then broke the major-league record for most home runs hit in a single season by a catcher.

In the first inning, Raleigh clubbed his 48th home run of the season with a two-run blast. And then, one inning later, he hit No. 49 on the season, pushing him ahead of a record set by Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez in 2021. Perez clubbed 48 home runs that season, passing Johnny Bench to set a new record at the position. Perez’s grasp on that record lasted just four seasons before Raleigh broke it on Sunday.

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Raleigh’s first homer of the game gave the Mariners an early 2-0 lead, with Raleigh sending the ball 453 feet to send him and Randy Arozarena home.

Then, in the second inning, he did it again: Raleigh hit another two-run homer deep left center, sending him and Arozarena home to give Seattle a 5-1 lead.

After rounding the bases again, the catcher was greeted with a standing ovation from the fans and his team. Raleigh went into the dugout, before coming back out again to tip his helmet to the crowd.

Raleigh’s pursuit of history felt inevitable after his first half. Raleigh hit an astonishing 38 home runs prior to the All-Star break, topping his previous career high. Over his career, the switch-hitting Raleigh has displayed elite power at the plate, but he’s taken that excellence to another level this season. 

His performance resulted in Raleigh making his first-ever All-Star Game, where he went on to participate in, and won, the 2025 Home Run Derby.

He now stands alone on the single-season list, which is littered with some of the best catchers of all-time. Below are the top five single season home run totals from catchers.

1-tie. Cal Raleigh, 2025 Seattle Mariners: 48
1-tie. Salvador Perez, 2021 Kansas City Royals: 48
3. Johnny Bench, 1970 Cincinnati Reds: 45
4. Javy Lopez, 2003 Atlanta Braves: 43
5-tie. Todd Hundley, 1996 New York Mets: 41
5-tie. Roy Campanella, 1953 Los Angeles Dodgers: 41

Of that group, Lopez actually hit the most home runs while playing catcher. He hit 42 of his 43 home runs in 2003 while starting behind the plate. Raleigh could break that record as well: With his two home runs Sunday, Raleigh now has hit 40 home runs as a catcher in 2025. He sits just two homers off Lopez’s record.

Both Raleigh and Perez were aided by their ability to serve as their team’s designated hitters on days when they aren’t behind the plate. That allowed both players to rack up a high number of plate appearances at a position that typically receives plenty of days off. But since Raleigh and Perez are true offensive difference-makers, their teams work to ensure their bats are in the lineup each day. It’s a credit to both Perez and Raleigh that they’ve been able to hold up and perform well under such an extreme workload.

While Perez’s record-setting 2021 season was impressive, Raleigh’s 2025 has a chance to be much, much better. Perez finished the 2021 season with a 2.7 fWAR, mostly driven by his offensive production. The advanced metrics have never been a fan of Perez’s defense, which pushed his total WAR down.

That’s not the case with Raleigh. Widely considered one of the best defenders in baseball, Raleigh already reached 7 fWAR in mid-August. If he can continue to finish strong, Raleigh could wind up turning in one of the best seasons ever by a catcher.

That could earn him some hardware at the end of the season. During his excellent 2021, Perez managed a seventh-place finish in the MVP voting. Raleigh appears destined to finish no lower than second in the American League voting in 2025, with a strong chance to win it depending on how he — and New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge — close out the year. 

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh was already in the midst of a transcendent season, but now it’s historic. With a pair of early home runs in Sunday’s 11-4 win over the Athletics, Raleigh tied, and then broke the major-league record for most home runs hit in a single season by a catcher.

In the first inning, Raleigh clubbed his 48th home run of the season with a two-run blast. And then, one inning later, he hit No. 49 on the season, pushing him ahead of a record set by Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez in 2021. Perez clubbed 48 home runs that season, passing Johnny Bench to set a new record at the position. Perez’s grasp on that record lasted just four seasons before Raleigh broke it on Sunday.

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Raleigh’s first homer of the game gave the Mariners an early 2-0 lead, with Raleigh sending the ball 453 feet to send him and Randy Arozarena home.

Then, in the second inning, he did it again: Raleigh hit another two-run homer deep left center, sending him and Arozarena home to give Seattle a 5-1 lead.

After rounding the bases again, the catcher was greeted with a standing ovation from the fans and his team. Raleigh went into the dugout, before coming back out again to tip his helmet to the crowd.

Raleigh’s pursuit of history felt inevitable after his first half. Raleigh hit an astonishing 38 home runs prior to the All-Star break, topping his previous career high. Over his career, the switch-hitting Raleigh has displayed elite power at the plate, but he’s taken that excellence to another level this season. 

His performance resulted in Raleigh making his first-ever All-Star Game, where he went on to participate in, and won, the 2025 Home Run Derby.

He now stands alone on the single-season list, which is littered with some of the best catchers of all-time. Below are the top five single season home run totals from catchers.

1-tie. Cal Raleigh, 2025 Seattle Mariners: 48
1-tie. Salvador Perez, 2021 Kansas City Royals: 48
3. Johnny Bench, 1970 Cincinnati Reds: 45
4. Javy Lopez, 2003 Atlanta Braves: 43
5-tie. Todd Hundley, 1996 New York Mets: 41
5-tie. Roy Campanella, 1953 Los Angeles Dodgers: 41

Of that group, Lopez actually hit the most home runs while playing catcher. He hit 42 of his 43 home runs in 2003 while starting behind the plate. Raleigh could break that record as well: With his two home runs Sunday, Raleigh now has hit 40 home runs as a catcher in 2025. He sits just two homers off Lopez’s record.

Both Raleigh and Perez were aided by their ability to serve as their team’s designated hitters on days when they aren’t behind the plate. That allowed both players to rack up a high number of plate appearances at a position that typically receives plenty of days off. But since Raleigh and Perez are true offensive difference-makers, their teams work to ensure their bats are in the lineup each day. It’s a credit to both Perez and Raleigh that they’ve been able to hold up and perform well under such an extreme workload.

While Perez’s record-setting 2021 season was impressive, Raleigh’s 2025 has a chance to be much, much better. Perez finished the 2021 season with a 2.7 fWAR, mostly driven by his offensive production. The advanced metrics have never been a fan of Perez’s defense, which pushed his total WAR down.

That’s not the case with Raleigh. Widely considered one of the best defenders in baseball, Raleigh already reached 7 fWAR in mid-August. If he can continue to finish strong, Raleigh could wind up turning in one of the best seasons ever by a catcher.

That could earn him some hardware at the end of the season. During his excellent 2021, Perez managed a seventh-place finish in the MVP voting. Raleigh appears destined to finish no lower than second in the American League voting in 2025, with a strong chance to win it depending on how he — and New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge — close out the year. 

The Mets were unable to complete a three-game sweep of the Braves in Atlanta, losing Sunday’s matchup by a score of 4-3. 

Here are the key takeaways…

— The Braves broke through to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning against Gregory Soto. With a runner at first and two outs, Soto walked a hitter and hit another with a pitch, loading the bases for Jurickson Profar, who delivered with a bloop single to center, scoring a pair to put Atlanta up 4-2.

Prior to the inning, Tyrone Taylor, who entered the game as a pinch-runner, stayed in the game to play left, keeping Cedric Mullins in center. It’s no guarantee that Taylor would have caught the Profar bloop, but it at least raised questions about the defensive alignment.

— The Mets had some chances late, but weren’t able to capitalize. In the seventh, Juan Soto worked a two-out walk to load the bases for Pete Alonso, but facing lefty Dylan Lee, Alonso grounded out harmlessly to third. Then, in the eighth, Brett Baty hit a high fly ball to right center that looked like it could possibly sail over the fence for a homer, but Michael Harris II somehow tracked it down and made the catch.

The Mets also put a couple of runners on in the ninth to put the tying run on base, and Soto came through with an RBI single to make it a one-run game, but Alonso and Jeff McNeil each popped out to end the game.

The top four in the Mets order — Francisco Lindor, Soto, Alonso, and McNeil, went a combined 2-for-15, with both hits (singles) coming in the ninth inning.

— Stay hot, Mark Vientos!

Starting at first base, Vientos smashed a two-run homer in the top off the second, sending a hanging Bryce Elder breaking ball into the seats. With the blast, Vientos homered in his third straight at-bat, and seems to be back in a groove at the plate. The Mets need to get production from outside of their “Big Four,” and a hot Vientos would go a long way.

— David Peterson had a couple of rough starts earlier this month, but the lefty appeared to be locked in once again, looking like his All-Star self, at least in the early going.

After pitching 8.0 innings of one-run ball against the Washington Nationals his last time out, Peterson was dominant through five shutout innings, but things unraveled int he sixth. Peterson walked a pair of Braves to load the bases, and Sean Murphy capitalized with a two-run single to right, tying the game and ending Peterson’s afternoon. Peterson went 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while striking out eight and walking four.

— Atlanta starter Bryce Elder allowed the early two-run shot to Vientos, but outside of that brief hiccup, the righty had a nice day on the mound. Elder settled in and gave the Braves 6.0 strong innings, allowing just those two earned runs on three hits, striking out six and walking two.

— A silver lining of the loss was that Brandon Nimmo was healthy enough to serve as a pinch-hitter in the ninth, though he flew out for the inning’s first out. Before the game, Carlos Mendoza said there’s a “good chance” that Nimmo is back in the starting lineup on Monday.

Game MVP

Profar, who had the game-winning hit in the eighth inning and also played solid defense in left.

Highlights

STAY HOT, SWAGGY V!

Mark Vientos goes yard again! pic.twitter.com/7n9HhqupQ1

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 24, 2025

5 strikeouts through 3 innings of work for David Peterson ♨️ pic.twitter.com/nibigP4KOh

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 24, 2025

Juan Soto gets the Mets within one run in the 9th! pic.twitter.com/AliW1zOj7c

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 24, 2025

Upcoming schedule

The Mets return home to start a crucial three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Kodai Senga will square off against lefty Cristopher Sanchez.

A sharp Suárez sets career-high in strikeouts, Phillies take series vs. Nats originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

There may be no one on the Phillies who embodies the ebbs and flows of a 162-game baseball season better than pitcher Ranger Suarez. Because when he is on his game, he is simply spectacular. And because of that, when he’s a little off, it seems all that much worse.

Well, sit back and enjoy the goodness of Suarez because he appears to be in the middle of one his lights-out streaks.

The lefthander completely muffled the Washington Nationals Sunday at Citizens Bank Park and also muffled many who were starting to build a little anxiety over some inconsistent outings.

Suarez recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts in his seven innings of work and allowed just three hits as the Phillies beat the Nationals, 3-2. It was the second straight double-digit strikeout performance for Suarez, who had 10 in his win over the Seattle Mariners Monday.

“It was about getting ahead in the count and attacking the hitters early,” said Suarez. “Getting ahead of the count helps in getting a lot of chase because they think that any pitch can come through the strike zone. I’ve had great command of my pitches for the last two outings and I think that’s one of the keys that have made me have good starts.

“It’s about learning from the rough starts and lately I’ve been watching videos from the past starts before the last outing that I had and I didn’t think I was myself on the mound. It looked like I was battling myself on the mound. I think it’s just relaxing a little bit more and enjoying the game a little bit more.”

It’s more enjoyable for everyone when you consider the past two outings by Suarez has resulted in those 21 strikeouts, no walks and two wins.

It could have been a little easier for the Phillies, who chased Washington starter Jake Irvin after just 2 1/3 innings. But they left 10 on base throughout the game and never added on to the early 3-0 lead.

They got that thanks to backup catcher Rafael Marchán.

In the second he doubled home Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott with two outs on a liner to right-center field. Then in the third, he coaxed a bases-loaded walk off reliever Shinnosuke Ogasawara on an eight-pitch at-bat.

The Nationals mounted a threat in the eighth inning when Jose Alvarado came in for the Phillies. He gave up a leadoff single to Brady House and proceeded to walk Robert Hassell III and Jacob Young. Thomson called for Tanner Banks out of the bullpen and he got a double-play ground out from James Wood, which scored a run, and a lazy flyout by CJ Abrams to end the inning.

“Huge,” said Thomson of Banks’ performance. “Alvy didn’t have it today. We were trying to get through the game without using Banks but we had to do it to win the ballgame. He did a heck of a job. He’s throwing more strikes, the slider’s better. A lot of confidence. He’s been huge for us.”

Orion Kerkering pitched the ninth, as normal closer Jhoan Duran had pitched the previous two games, and gave up a home run to Andres Chaparro before retiring the final two batters and helping the Phillies to their seventh win in their last nine games.

And it was enough to hold on for the win on Marchán’s big day.

“He does a lot of cage work for his offense,” said Thomson of Marchán. “It’s tough for him because he’s a switch-hitter and he has to do extra work from both sides. He does a lot of work with the catching coaches and he studies a lot. He was in his locker yesterday, when he wasn’t catching, and working a game plan for yesterday’s game even though he wasn’t catching. That’s how tuned in he is. I think part of it is just natural and part of it is that J.T. (Realmuto) has kind of groomed him a little bit. Big day today. All three of our RBIs, a couple of key blocks behind the plate. People don’t like to run on him because they know he can throw. For the fact that he doesn’t play everyday, that’s a tough thing to do. And he’s doing a great job of it.”

While the Phillies took two of three from Washington to improve their record to 76-54 and upped their lead in the NL East to seven games as the Mets lost to the Braves, they did see a streak come to an end.

Kyle Schwarber went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks. It snapped a streak of 15 consecutive series for Schwarber with a home run.

But the story Sunday was Suárez, who seems to be back to his early-season form as he upped his record to 10-6 and lowered his ERA to 3.07.

“The velocity has jumped up a little bit but so has the command,” said Thomson. “And that’s really the thing for him. When he can get the ball to his glove side he’s really effective. Everything else plays off of that. And that’s what he’s doing right now.

“I think it was probably just a little bit or normal fatigue that every pitcher, every starter goes through over the course of the year and it looks like he’s recovered.”

It sure does look that way.

Major League Baseball will return to Dyersville, Iowa next year for the third Field of Dreams Game on the site made famous by the 1989 film starring Kevin Costner. 

The Philadelphia Phillies will play the Minnesota Twins in the showcase event to be played in August, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports. Minnesota will be the home team. The exact date for the game will be revealed when the 2026 MLB schedule is released Tuesday. The previous two events were played on the second Thursday in August. 

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MLB will play a regular-season game at the Field of Dreams site for the first time in four years. The inaugural event in 2021 featured the New York Yankees playing the Chicago White Sox. Tim Anderson hit a walk-off home run to give the White Sox a 9-8 victory.

The following year, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals played in Dyersville, with the Cubs getting a 4-2 win. 

That event may not have featured the pageantry of Costner introducing the event, the players emerging from the cornstalks to take the field didn’t feel quite as special the second time, and the game wasn’t as dramatic. However, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey had a catch on the field before the game, invoking the spirit of the beloved film. 

MLB did not play a game at the Field of Dreams for the past two years while the site was sold to new owners and a permanent facility was constructed with fields for youth baseball and softball teams. During the past two seasons, August events were played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama (paying tribute to the Negro Leagues) and Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. 

The MLB regular season has featured games and series played at alternate sites since 2016, including Japan, South Korea and Puerto Rico, while also playing the annual Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.