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Mariners’ Cal Raleigh reaches Johnny Bench territory with 45th home run
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- Mariners’ Cal Raleigh reaches Johnny Bench territory with 45th home run
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The post Mariners' Cal Raleigh reaches Johnny Bench territory with 45th home run appeared first on ClutchPoints .
A special season continues for the Seattle Mariners , and their catcher Cal Raleigh . Raleigh blasted his 45th home run of the season on Sunday, in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays . Raleigh is now in the company of some of the best hitting catchers of all-time due to this latest blast.
USA Today reporter Bob Nightengale wrote on X that Raleigh's offense is on the level of other greats who played catcher, like Johnny Bench. In 1970 Bench hit 45 home runs in 158 games, Nightengale wrote. Raleigh is now at 45 homers this season through 116 games.
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Raleigh hit his latest blast in the bottom of the first inning on Sunday, in a contest against Tampa at T-Mobile Park. It was a scoreless game before the Mariners catcher blasted a two-run shot toward the right field stands. Seattle's crowd went wild following the moonshot.
The Mariners are looking to win their 66th game of the season Sunday. Seattle is 65-53 on the campaign.
Cal Raleigh is making the case he is the American League MVP
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Raleigh leads all of Major League Baseball in home runs this season. He is guiding a Mariners team that is nipping at the heels of the Houston Astros in the American League West.
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This season Raleigh has been a magician for Seattle's offense. He has posted home runs in three consecutive games, after his blast on Sunday. Raleigh is hitting .249 this season with 98 total RBIs.
Before the MLB trade deadline, the Mariners made a commitment to strengthen their offense . The club added former Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez , who is in his second stint with the team. Suarez has 37 home runs this season, and is working in tandem with Raleigh to push Seattle into the postseason.
Seattle has a lot to cheer about right now. The club just retired the jersey of Ichiro Suzuki , and honored Suzuki at Saturday's game against the Rays. The ceremony brought some of the club's biggest stars over the years back to Seattle. That included not only Suzuki, but also Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr .
Mariners fans certainly have a lot to be excited about, as the season starts to near its end. Seattle has won eight of their last 10 games entering Sunday's contest with Tampa.
Related: Ichiro Suzuki reacts to rare Mariners honor he'll share with Randy Johnson
Related: Ken Griffey Jr. roasts Ichiro Suzuki in Mariners jersey retirement ceremony
