The 2025 MLB season has gone on for about three months now, but fans can get the feel of which teams will be contending for the postseason. Fans can also get a better understanding of which players are true contenders for the MVP awards.
In the first month, it sure looked like New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge was the shoo-in favorite to win the American league MVP award for the second consecutive year. However, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is making a serious case for winning the award.
Entering June 23, Raleigh had 31 home runs to his credit on the year. But that evening, Raleigh hit his 32nd homer of the season in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins.
Considering it's incredibly rare for a catcher in recent MLB seasons, for a catcher to hit this many home runs this early in a season, who holds the record for the most hit in a single season?
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What is the MLB record for most home runs by a catcher in a single-season?
The MLB record for most home runs by a catcher in a single season is 48 by Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals.
Perez was on a tear during the 2021 season, hitting 48 home runs and 121 RBI, both of which led the entire majors. While Perez did make it into the All-Star Game and won a Silver Slugger award, it wasn't enough for him to win the AL MVP. Instead, he finished seventh in voting, with then Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani winning.
Prior to Perez's 48 home run season in 2021, the single season record was held by Cincinnati Reds legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench back in 1970. That year, Bench hit 45 home runs and an absurd 148 RBI through 158 games. For those numbers, Bench won the NL MVP Award after receiving 22 first-place votes.
How many home runs is Cal Raleigh on pace to hit in 2025 season?
Raleigh is on pace to break Perez's record with relative ease. Again, as of this writing, Raleigh has 32 home runs to his credit through 76 games played.
Taking that information into consideration, Raleigh is on pace to hit 68 home runs on the season.
We'll see if Raleigh will be able to keep this pace, as players do have the tendency to enter lengthy slumps. But, Raleigh has already broke Johnny Bench's record for most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break. Bench hit 28 before the 1970 All-Star break. Raleigh is at 32 and counting.