Cal Raleigh has a leg up on both Ohtani and Judge in one big statistic

The Seattle Mariners are six games above .500 with a half-game lead over Houston in the AL West. Like always, Seattle has bullets upon bullets in the pitching department, but what makes this Mariners team different is the offense. The M's lineup is night-and-day different than last season's group, in no small part due to Cal Raleigh's unexpected MVP campaign.

Raleigh has four MLB seasons under his belt. He has never made the All-Star team, currently hanging his hat on a Gold Glove win in 2024. That is Raleigh's only hardware, but the 28-year-old is on a historic path in 2025. He just became the first catcher in league history with 20-plus home runs through May. He currently leads all of baseball with 23 dingers after this absolute tank on Sunday.

Raleigh is on track for his first All-Star berth. And a Silver Slugger award. That Gold Glove is still in the cards, too. But what about MVP? Can he really compete with Aaron Judge at the end of the day. That answer ultimately lies in the eye of the beholder, but there's one stat that sure seems to strengthen Raleigh's case.

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Cal Raleigh's clutch gene could put him in the MVP mix with Aaron Judge

Not only does Raleigh lead MLB in home runs with 23, boasting an impressive .264 average and 1.016 OPS, but he has four "clutch" home runs — four go-ahead bombs in the seventh inning or later. That is two more than the second-best.

For as much praise as we heap on Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, Raleigh's ability to hit in the clutch puts him in rare air. Judge and Ohtani have participated in a lot more blowouts on better teams, which is worth remembering, but that almost helps Raleigh's case. It's hard to pin down a single, definitive way to evaluate an MVP candidacy, but Raleigh is lifting what has been an unreliable lineup in recent years. Judge and Ohtani were in the World Series seven months ago. Those lineups are stacked. One could argue, quite easily, that Raleigh is more essential to Seattle's success than any other individual player.

Judge has been on a truly historic trajectory, boasting an absurd .398 average and 1.268 OPS, along with 20 home runs and 50 RBI, so he probably takes the crown if the season ended today. He definitely leads in the opinion of oddsmakers, with Judge at -2250 to win the award for a second straight season. Raleigh's odds sit at 75-1. He isn't even in second place, with Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. at 15-1 odds.

Now, Raleigh has outpaced Witt almost across the board this season, so that seems a bit silly. But Judge is the rightful frontrunner. Even so, this race is closer than it seems, especially since Raleigh is an incredibly valuable catcher on defense and far more important in the context of his lineup. Judge is a subpar defender in right field. Ohtani is a DH. Raleigh calls games behind home plate and he's doing what he's doing in the batter's box. That ought to count for something, especially when the M's are crushing expectations across the board.