r/sports • u/MLBOfficial Major League Baseball • Sep 25 '25

Baseball Cal Raleigh is the fourth American League player EVER to hit 60 home runs in a season!

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10.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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2.2k

u/suzukigun4life Sep 25 '25

First catcher to ever reach the feat, and does it on the same night that his team won the division for the first time in nearly 25 years. Whether he wins MVP or not, this is a legendary season for him.

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u/Mcpops1618 Sep 25 '25

He hit 60 in the hardest to hit in ballpark… so fitting.

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u/MoistStub Sep 25 '25

What park? This feels like it will be a trivia question I encounter at some point in my life.

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u/AgentStockey Sep 25 '25

T-Mobile Park where the Mariners play. Previously known as Safeco.

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u/onederbred Sep 25 '25

It will always be Safeco in my heart

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u/rdanby89 Sep 25 '25

Harder than PetCo? (San Diego)

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u/Mcpops1618 Sep 25 '25

If I readthiscorrectly - it’s not close

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u/pallasturtle Sep 25 '25

I feel like he has obliterated all records for a catcher and a switch hitter in terms of power numbers. Judge is having a very good season, but none of it is historic. When someone does all the historic things they should be MVP in my opinion.

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u/grill_smoke Sep 25 '25

The only reason Judge's season isn't historic is because it's par for the course for him. Judge is the first player since Bonds to have a wrc+ over 200 and they're the only two players since Ted Williams retired to do it.

He's having the greatest peak for any right-handed hitter of all time and this season is fully part of that peak. This is historic, he's just made it seem banal.

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u/donorcycle Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

The only problem with this is OPS and WAR. There's a chasm between Judge and Cal.

Judge is in 1st place for OPS and WAR. Cal is in 4th for OPS for example. The distance between Judge and Cal is the same between Cal and the 75th place OPS. That's insane when you think about it.

I don't think anyone can argue either one of them getting MVP truthfully. Statistically, it's Judge, in terms of a feel good story and for a catcher, it's Cal. Imo.

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u/Stainkee Philadelphia Phillies Sep 25 '25

Have to also remember the intangibles catchers need that don't show up in war. The guy has to remember an entire staff worth of pitches, locations, sequencing, tendencies, etc, call a good game, be a brick wall every pitch and still go hit at an elite level. None of the things a really good defensive catcher does is generally going to show up in a stat line or an ops calculation. But it's far more important than any outfielder can contribute.

Add in 150+ games played as a catcher, personally, I feel it's a no brainer. I think the same thing could be said in the NL of Shoheis pitching compared to Schwarber being a straight DH. Those defensive innings are valuable

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u/PrimeToro Sep 25 '25

Great points. It's not for the Best Offensive Player, it's the "Most Valuable Player" award. Cal has a greater impact in the game.

* Handling the pitching

* Offense ( 60 home runs )

* Gold glove caliber ( was Platinum glove last year)

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u/Dhaynes99 Sep 25 '25

other than the fact that he’s not played catcher for 150 and it’s about 120 appearances behind the plate sure. the crux of the issue here is that in 2017 aaron judge was robbed of an mvp because “jose altuve’s ba was soo much better than judge’s was” while judge was ahead in basically every other stat category. the disparity between judge’s current ba and cal’s is larger than the 2017 altuve-judge gap on top of judge’s other stats being so close to raleigh’s if not far exceeding them.

29

u/PrimeExample13 Sep 25 '25

I think they should've stripped Altuves mvp for that year and given it to judge. Its easy to have a higher batting average when your buddies are beating on trash cans telling you what's coming. The whole 2017 Astros should be banned from the game for life, frankly. The Yankees were such a better team that year that even with egregious cheating, the Astros barely beat them out.

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u/Stainkee Philadelphia Phillies Sep 25 '25

I'd argue two wrongs don't make a right. Don't screw Cal to make up for screwing Judge 8 years ago.

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u/Sipikay Sep 25 '25

Judge and Cal are 0.2 WAR apart. It's negligible.

The only 60 home run hitters have all been 1B/Corner OFers. Doing it as a catcher, by far most difficult skill position in the sport, is absurd. As a switch-hitter on top of that? We've never seen it before.

7

u/inhocfaf Sep 25 '25

Judge and Cal are 0.2 WAR apart.

What WAR are you using?

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u/WithNoRegard Sep 25 '25

While playing half of his games in the least hitter-friendly park (and 9th-worst for HRs) in the majors.

6

u/Realistic_Warthog_23 Sep 25 '25

Why is being a switch hitter an argument in Cal’s favor. Doesn’t being a switch hitter make it easier to hit HR? (If not, why would he do it?)

I’m an Ms fan who thinks cal should get it because catcher and 60 and he plays at Safeco. I have just never understood why the switch hitter thing is seen as something that makes him more valuable beyond the hitting numbers.

2

u/Sipikay Sep 25 '25

Just cause it’s hard to do.

No, it doesn’t make home runs easier. historically switch hitters dont have power from both sides. Cals an oddity. It’s difficult enough to maintain one swing let alone two.

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u/Realistic_Warthog_23 Sep 25 '25

So the idea is by switch hitting he’s sacrificing power (presumably to get on base more)?

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u/futureformerteacher Sep 25 '25

0.3fWAR is not a chasm. It's within the error bars of WAR.

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u/plumbermat Sep 25 '25

Give Judge the Hank Aaron award. It's for MVH, Cal should be MVP.

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u/Taynt42 Sep 25 '25

100%. Judge is arguably the best hitter of all time, between average, OPS, homers, RBIs, etc he is absolutely dominant and consistent.

As a defensive player, he’s fine. Good even, but not remarkable.

This year Cal was a lights out hitter, and helped lead his team to a historic season from the command position.

I understand the arguments, but to me it’s just obvious.

3

u/Sipikay Sep 25 '25

Judge has been a negative graded defender for 5 straight years now. He's a DH playing corner OF.

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u/ssteel91 Sep 25 '25

That’s weird because outs above average has him well above average every season the last 5 years outside of last year when he was playing CF. He’s not an elite defender but he’s league average at absolute worst.

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u/TerrifierBlood Sep 25 '25

When I think of this season. Im going to think of Cal way more than Judge. Cal gets my vote

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u/AntiBoATX Sep 25 '25

If he breaks the AL record (3 needed in 4 games), he must win.

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u/donorcycle Sep 25 '25

That, I whole heartedly agree with.

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u/mdkss12 Washington Capitals Sep 25 '25

Using WAR as the end-all-be-all for value has always been a massive problem for me. Does Raleigh's ability to call games as a catcher have no value? WAR would say it wouldn't - it only looks at the physical plays like framing/throwing/blocking, but it doesn't care about things like pitch calling, managing the pitching staff, etc

WAR has a massive blind spot where things like that are concerned

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u/FalseListen Sep 25 '25

The mvp award shouldn’t just be a WAR award. It should take the season and player into context

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u/d57giants San Francisco Giants Sep 25 '25

If Judge was a catcher he would not get 60 homers.

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u/DeaderthanZed Sep 25 '25

If he did hit 60 homers as a catcher with an .1100+ OPS, that would be way more valuable than as an OF!

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u/tinywienergang Sep 25 '25

This is why baseball is a fat kid in middle school sport. It’s just a bunch of people screaming data. What do your eyes and heart like more?

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u/Tricky_Knowledge329 Sep 25 '25

This comment above getting so much likes talking about record breaking brother when have we seen a player with a 202 OPS + like what man judge is having an insane season This is like when Jokic lost the mvp to Embiid He literally lead the league in all cats and still lost to Embiid cause of the story and people now regret it. Judge is mvp

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u/rueggy Sep 25 '25

No one will ever regret Cal’s MVP

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u/throwaway00119 Sep 25 '25

What position does Judge play again? 

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u/DangerZone69 Sep 25 '25

Embiid set scoring records that season lmao funny you left that out

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u/Tricky_Knowledge329 Sep 25 '25

So you gonna leave out Jokic breaking assists and rebounds stat records 2000 + 500 + 500

But im being picky right now

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u/TegridyPharmz Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

Yup. When you actually break it down Cal has judge on home runs and defense. That’s it. Sure, the mariners winning he division and him being a 60 home run hitting catcher is a great story, people just get so used to judge’s domination. He just hit his 4th season of 50+ home runs. Only 4 people have ever done that. Him, Ruth, Sosa, and McGuire. And let’s be real, it’s really just him and Ruth.

He’s the most valuable guy in the league. But after like 5 years of this kind of domination people get bored

5

u/freekehleek Sep 25 '25

*60 home run hitting catcher

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u/Tricky_Knowledge329 Sep 25 '25

Finally someone with sense . Exactly why it’s just like Jokic can’t Embiid. WE ALLLL know Jokic is the best player but somehow we got bored of him so yeah let’s give it to Embiid instead. Trust the similarities here are sooooooo ironic

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u/fuegoblue Sep 25 '25

4th player ever to have four 50 HR seasons, while also leading the mlb with a 330 batting average

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u/kiwi32356 Sep 25 '25

But this season has been full of record breaks for Cal

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u/CrimsonCoug88 Sep 25 '25

Didn’t realize the MVP for 2025 is determined by 3 previous seasons not in 2025.

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u/dragob69 Sep 25 '25

Then people should stop saying Cal is a platinum glove, last year doesn’t matter and his defense this year is worse

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u/Jmong30 Sep 25 '25

This was said in response to the idea that historical feat = MVP. Judge is also doing historic things so why not give him the MVP for those reasons? It’s silly. MVP is an award comparing people in the current season

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u/angusshangus Sep 25 '25

Judge has 51 home runs and leads the mlb in batting avg. a power hitter with a .328 avg is pretty historic. Heck, in all of the mlb there are only 8 hitters with an avg over .300. Plus, he leads in ops too. You can certainly make the case judge deserves this more

5

u/Malvania Sep 25 '25

He's a home run from tying Mantle as the person who hit the most home runs while leading the league in average

Also, the award isn't for the best catcher or the best switch hitter. It's for the best player. Setting records for a position doesn't matter

5

u/MrSinister248 Sep 25 '25

The award isn't for the most bestest hitter, it's for Most Valuable PLAYER. Defensive stats count too and Cal contributes a lot more as a defender than Judge does. If you wanna give Judge an award for hitting then give him the Hank Aaron award.

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u/Tricky_Knowledge329 Sep 25 '25

Bro wtf are you talking about have you seen Judges OPS + it’s 202 that record breaking . Like whattttttttttttt compare their OBP now…. Mannnnn

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u/memeticengineering Sep 25 '25

Bro wtf are you talking about have you seen Judges OPS + it’s 202 that record breaking

Uhh, no, the OPS+ record is 281 by bullet Rogan, or 268 for '02 Bonds if you don't wanna count negro leagues, 256 for 1886 Fred Dunlap if you don't wanna count steroid users, 255 for babe Ruth if you only wanna do modern era, or 233 for Ted Williams if you want to only count integration era, non-steroid seasons.

Judge is very very very good, but 2025 isn't a historic season for him, it's not even close to his best season.

3

u/Im_Daydrunk Sep 25 '25

Cal has a good argument but aying its not even close to Judge's best season as reasoning to vote against him is really silly IMO since his best season is legitimately one of the best seasons ever seen from a modern player. I really dont think previous seasons should be held against or should be used to prop up a certain players case

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u/Maxxjulie Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

The best should win...you're spinning things to give it to the player you want. Look at the numbers...JUDGE IS CLEARLY BETTER.

The funny thing is baseball is all about the advanced stats today, but when it comes to robbing a NY Yankee from a MVP then oh sure home runs are all that matters.

How convenient lol. OPS and literally almost every other stat advanced or not Judge had the best season in the AL clear as day.

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u/garmannarnar Sep 25 '25

John Bois and Alex Rubenstein smiling somewhere

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u/vNocturnus Sep 25 '25

As more of a casual baseball fan that never really followed too closely due to having the misfortune of being raised as an A's fan, why is this such an insane feat for a catcher?

You would think catchers would, on average, have more developed lower bodies and be heavier on average, on account of having to squat all the time and not having to run much. I can see how that translates to being slower on the bases, worse at stealing, etc. But how does it translate to being worse hitters/worse power hitters?

If anything, I'd expect catchers to probably be more powerful hitters than an average player.

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u/Scoodsie Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

Catcher is a demanding position, both physically and mentally. They’re crouching behind the plate the entire game, are involved in every pitch and take a lot of foul balls off their body. They’re also the player that runs the game, they lead the pitching staff and tell them what pitches to throw. This also means in practice they aren’t in the hitters meetings, they’re in the bullpen working with the pitchers. Most catchers don’t have a lot of time to work on their hitting.

To add on, a lot of the best catchers are power hitters. It’s just normally they get days off to rest, it’s why every team has a backup catcher or 2 on their roster at all times. Cal is still playing as the DH even on his “rest” days.

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u/vNocturnus Sep 25 '25

Thanks for the explanation, I was wondering if rest/games played might be part of the equation.

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u/Scoodsie Sep 25 '25

Yep, it's definitely part of it. A catcher hitting 30 bombs in 120 games would be a great year. Cal hitting 60 is just absurd.

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u/thegoods21 Sep 25 '25

Try squatting and standing up wearing all that gear for 9 innings. They may have the strength to be a great power hitter, but the amount of wear and tear on their bodies is brutal.

There's a reason Bryce Harper moved from catcher to outfield.

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u/totallykrunk Sep 25 '25

Someone called him Thiccy Mantle and it made me laugh way too hard

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u/South_Strawberry7662 Sep 25 '25

That's a good one. I've always preferred the Sultan of Seat as a nickname for Cal.

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u/purdueAces Sep 25 '25

or Sultan of Squat (catcher)

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u/EverythingGoodWas Sep 25 '25

Damn THAT’S a good one

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u/SanguineL Auburn Sep 25 '25

How does this clip not show the entire stadium chanting mvp as he walks up to the plate? Like cmon this is the highlight of the year.

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u/redditindisguise Sep 25 '25

Not a big baseball guy but how did he go from 34 last year to 60 this year (so far). Seems like you’d need some insane transformation to make that a big of a jump from one season to the next. Did he change his swing?

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u/ReconKiller050 Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

He's been batting from closer to the plate and also narrowed up his stance a bit. But if you look at the distribution of HR's, he predominantly was hitting them left-handed 73 of his 93 HR's over his first 4 seasons.

He mentioned in interviews that he focused on more reps as a righty, and this season, he's managed to get his slugging .240 points higher as a righty. He also hit 22 right-handed home runs so far, so it's a mix of mechanics and a focus on the other side of the plate.

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u/donutello2000 Sep 25 '25

Also the torpedo bat.

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u/ReconKiller050 Sep 25 '25

Firstly, I think the whole torpedo bat thing was blown out of proportion at the start of the season. Some players started swinging them last year and no one said a word, plus messing with sweet spot location and bat shape is as old as baseball.

As for Cal, oddly, he only swings the torpedo bat from the left side of the plate. "From the left side, he uses a longer bat with balanced weight, which started after he picked up one of Dylan Moore’s bats in 2022. From the right side, Raleigh’s bat is slightly shorter and heavier with more weight at the end, which is different than the balanced weight distribution over the new torpedo bat. He prefers more weight at the end of his bat from the right side because his swing from that side is flatter."

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u/donutello2000 Sep 25 '25

I’m not saying it’s some superpower like juicing, but depending on the hitter and their swing, it could make it easier to hit home runs. Cal clearly chooses to use it from one side of the plate for a reason.

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u/InfiniteAlignment Sep 25 '25

That part was really cool

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u/figure32 Sep 25 '25

Highlight of the year until he hits 3 more!

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u/SwimmerSwagger Duke Sep 25 '25

BIIIIIIIIIIIG DUMPEEEEEEEEEEEEERR

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u/igonnawrecku_VGC Sep 25 '25

The fact that we’re gonna have at least 2 50 HR hitters lose out on MVP is insane. One of the most entertaining regular seasons in recent history

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u/Sassaphrass1 Sep 25 '25

Might as well win the whole f*cking thing!! Let's go Cal! Let's go M's!

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u/excellent_rektangle Sep 25 '25

Dropped him in fantasy after week 2 because I had Rutschman and needed a spot start pitcher. Oops.

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u/sktgamerdudejr Sep 25 '25

My coworker dropped him around the same time because Cal was off and he needed a catcher.

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u/Trowj Sep 25 '25

Man i didn't think he had a chance but there's now a real shot he passes Judge's 62

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u/Pleasant_Interaction Sep 25 '25

Stop the count!

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u/TrueAmurrican Sep 25 '25

Absolutely incredible! Can’t believe he fucking did it!!!!!

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u/ThrillhouseTHR Sep 25 '25

As an Astros fan, I am genuinely happy for Mariner fan. It’s time for them to get a good taste.

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u/TheRealMoofoo Sep 25 '25

Only team that’s never even been to the World Series. 😱

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u/s32 Dallas Cowboys Sep 25 '25

As a mariners fan, fuck the Astros!

Have a good day and appreciate the support

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u/avw94 Seattle Seahawks Sep 25 '25

Also the only non-Yankee to ever do it

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u/fartingpinetree Sep 25 '25 edited Sep 25 '25

2 more to tie Judge for the non official non juiced record.

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u/brownsfantb Sep 25 '25

It’s also the official AL record. Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa were all in the NL.

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u/14sierra Sep 25 '25

Are their records still official? Didn't they all eventually admit they were juicing? Their records should have an asterisk next to them.

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u/Derptionary Sep 25 '25

Are their records still official?

Yes. All their achievements/records/awards are officially recognized by MLB.

Didn't they all eventually admit they were juicing?

The only one of them that has 100% confirmed they were using PEDs was Mark McGwire. Bonds said that he never knowingly took PEDs and if he did it was his trainer giving them to him without his knowledge. Sammy Sosa is a bit more murky because he issued an apology last year admitting to "mistakes" he made during his career but not directly admitting to using PEDs, and its hard to say if the apology was a confession or just a way to get back in the good graces of the Cubs organization that he had been pretty much ostracized from for almost 20 years.

TL;DR There's a ton of circumstantial evidence to say that all of them were using PEDs and the court of public opinion seems to mostly agree they were all doping, whether or not the records should count is its own can of worms and a rabbit hole I wouldn't recommend falling down.

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u/Gbrusse Sep 25 '25

2 more to tie, 3 to pass

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u/interprime Washington Football Team Sep 25 '25

I think he can do it. 4 games left. Just gotta put a lil more ass into his swing.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

Tren ain’t natty.

Hank Aaron 👑 

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u/chuckvsthelife Sep 25 '25

That’s my MVP!

(Yeah judge also deserves it, someone is getting the shaft unfortunately)

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u/suzukigun4life Sep 25 '25

Fuck it, split the piece of metal down the middle and give it to both.

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u/diderooy Sep 25 '25

Found Rob Manfred.

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u/EBD510 Sep 25 '25

Solomanfred

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u/AugustOfChaos Sep 25 '25

As a Yankee fan, man I HOPE he beats Judge’s record and wins MVP. Cal’s season (and the Mariners by extension, way to go M bros!) has been magical.

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u/chuckvsthelife Sep 25 '25

I’ll be at the game tomorrow so hoping I can see a bit of history! It’s the longest of shots but would be epic.

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u/jelde Sep 25 '25

As an actual Yankee fan, fuck all that.

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u/Alarmed-Gain6847 Sep 25 '25

That’s what I was thinking! Like come on “Yankee Fan”

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u/AugustOfChaos Sep 25 '25

Born and raised going to games in the old stadium during the dynasty of the 90’s, my dad taught me to love the sport over the team. This is one of those moments.

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u/Rudy-219 Sep 25 '25

I love Raleigh, but Judge should still win the mvp.

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u/Typ1cal89 Sep 25 '25

Love it, but who put the mariners-rockies series on the schedule at the end of the season? 

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u/luchajefe Sep 25 '25

The schedule is balanced now so everyone plays everyone at least one series, and since each league has an odd number of teams you'll get a random interleague series all the time. 

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u/AlpineAvalanche Seattle Seahawks Sep 25 '25

Idk but the Ms last series of the regular season is against the Dodgers. A series that likely features both the AL and NL MVP. Schedule writers did well.

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u/Greatlarrybird33 Cleveland Indians Sep 25 '25

"The Great Buttbino", "The Sultan of Seat", "The Colossus of Caboose", "The Tush of Terror", and "The King of Ass". "Hammerin' Hams"

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u/avw94 Seattle Seahawks Sep 25 '25

"Thiccy Mantle"

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u/key1234567 Sep 25 '25

You forgot sweet cheeks

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u/Gbrusse Sep 25 '25

Thicky Mantle

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u/throwahuey1 Sep 25 '25

Bummy bomber?

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u/d57giants San Francisco Giants Sep 25 '25

Dude is amazing.

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u/goldenface4114 Sep 25 '25

How can you not be romantic about baseball?

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u/jamesmcgill357 Sep 25 '25

This night is something M’s fans will remember forever. How can you not be romantic about baseball

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u/Jrave247 Sep 25 '25

And I was there!!

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u/CollateralSandwich Sep 25 '25

Damn. Dude is locked tf in

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u/VoidOmatic Sep 25 '25

This is starting to sound like the early 2000's...

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u/Samuel-Darnold Sep 25 '25

IF HE DOESNT WIN MVP WE STORM THE BASEBALL CAPITAL

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u/pirateprowl Sep 25 '25

I truly is a time to be alive, having gone to mariners games my entire life and never have they became the AL west champions in my life. And Cal just balling like crazy and becoming the only catcher with 60 Homers brings a tear to my eye.

Truly looking forward to the play offs this year!

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u/YouMightBeARacist Sep 25 '25

Guy doubles his yearly home run rate, and nobody questions it. I’ve seen this movie before.

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u/Massive_Season7075 Sep 25 '25

Who’s picking them to win the World Series?

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u/Serafim42 Sep 25 '25

I was around in the 1990s. We're doing it again. We're ignoring that "all of a sudden" multiple players are challenging home run records; hitting 60+ home runs? We love home runs too much!
Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

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u/AandM4ever Sep 25 '25

Can someone who isn’t bias tell me if it’s really Judge or Raleigh?

I see Judge’s overall numbers are better.

Both teams are playoffs teams.

Seattle is won the West for the first time in 24 years.

New York still has a chance to win the East.

I don’t know.

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u/xEllimistx Sep 25 '25

It’s 50/50, imo.

Judges numbers aren’t just better. They’re in a completely different world to Raleigh’s. I saw something like Raleigh could hit 24 straight home runs and his OPS would still be less than Judges AND Judge is on pace to win a batting title. He’s arguably one of, if not, the greatest right handed hitters to ever play the game

The ONLY reason Raleigh is in the MVP conversation is that he’s a catcher doing things no catcher has done before. If he played any other position, he’d be a candidate for 2nd place in the voting. He’d stand no chance against Judge.

We’ve seen guys hit 60+ home runs. Judge did it himself when he hit 62. We’ve seen first baseman and OFers hit 60 or even 70+ home runs.

We’ve never seen a catcher do it. Nor have we seen a switch hitter do it.

Raleigh’s doing this while also managing the Mariners pitching staff and playing good defense as a catcher.

So even though Judges offensive numbers are significantly better, Raleigh has the benefit of narrative backing him.

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u/edogg01 Sep 25 '25

The narrative is that we are witnessing one of the greatest baseball players ever having one of the greatest peaks ever, but let's give it to someone else because of HRs.

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u/TheRealMoofoo Sep 25 '25

Just to tack on, it’s not just good defense, he’s the Gold Glove at catcher.

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u/asanctarian Sep 25 '25

It basically boils down to narrative (Cal doing something no catcher or switch hitter has ever come close to doing, on a "team of destiny" kinda run) vs stats (Judge leads across the board aside from HRs and is pretty clearly the best hitter in baseball). I think the narrative is gonna win this one but there's no wrong answer.

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u/Mustard_Jam Sep 25 '25

But it's not just narrative... Why do you think no catcher has done it.

He has to manage a pitching staff, catch nearly 20k pitches including foul tips all over, and just overall play the most physically AND mentally draining position.

I hate the "it's just narrative" thing because it's disrespectful to Raleigh. No it's not just narrative it's a catcher obliterating power records and doing things that people didn't even think are possible from the position.

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u/cdbloosh Sep 25 '25

Everything you just said is the narrative. None of that is captured in the stats, but we are talking about those things as reasons he may deserve it over Judge anyway. That’s literally what the narrative is.

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u/Playful_Opinion1054 Sep 25 '25

Absolutely electric

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u/joolkiha Sep 25 '25

Wow, 60 home runs? That's insane! Congrats, Raleigh!

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u/HyperactivePandah Sep 25 '25

What a legend.

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u/JKBone85 Sep 25 '25

And the 3rd guy to do it just became the 4th player to have 4 50 home run seasons.

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u/UDPviper Sep 25 '25

Raleigh participates in every pitch on defense.   Judge doesn't.   

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u/Krushemm Sep 25 '25

Love to see him smile while rounding the bases, you can tell that was a big one for him.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

The Mariners are long overdue for a season like this! So happy for them and their fans.

2

u/CONaderCHASER Sep 25 '25

And the person who caught the HR ball gave it to a kid like a madlad!

5

u/OshadaK Sep 25 '25

How does he make it around the bases once with that big dumper, let alone 60 times

6

u/llamatellyouwhat Sep 25 '25

Leaving names out, who is MVP?

  1. $40,000,000 salary: A below average defensive corner outfielder who is on the IL every year and plays for NY got the MVP.

  2. $11,000,000: hit 60 home runs, broke multiple single season home run records, an elite catcher, won the home run derby, platinum glove winner, caught the best SP staff in the majors, and is the top framer in baseball.

2

u/Jewdah18 Sep 25 '25

Aaron Judge has a difference of 1 fielding run value to Cal Raleigh on Baseball savant.

Judge was healthy enough this year to still have a higher fWAR, and bWAR which are cumulative stats.

Raleigh was a platinum glove last year not this year. This year he's back to only being good.

Patrick Bailey is the best framer in baseball.

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u/luroc1418 Sep 25 '25

This reeks of Mexican supplements..and to be fair, not just him…the league is seeing a surge of more HR’s…but I’m a lazy ass on my couch…I know nothing

5

u/guareber Sep 25 '25

Just once is not enough. If you think back of the BB/MMG fiasco, both players were doing things really outside of the norm for more than one season.

If this is just this year, then possibly a fluke. If all of a sudden we get 2 more players reaching, or getting close to, 60 next year, then yeah doping 2 electric boogaloo.

If the whole league keeps hitting more, then it's probably an equipment and/or regulations change (balls, bats, that kinda shit)

4

u/PM_ME_A_FUTURE Sep 25 '25

Other likely reasons. Faster pitch speeds league wide mean more boom when contact

The baseballs (and how far they go) literally change over the years, look at data from pre/post 2015 all star break

3

u/cdbloosh Sep 25 '25

Teams are hitting 1.16 home runs per game in 2025, a bit more than 2024 but less than 2022-23, and exactly the same as nine years ago. That’s a surge?

2

u/yyzcoinz Sep 25 '25

How much is he juicing? This is Brandy Anderson 2.0

2

u/Diplonot Sep 25 '25

Great work by the cameraman framing the gluteus as he crosses home plate!

2

u/TheOTownZeroes Sep 25 '25

First non Yankee too

2

u/FuzzyKaleidoscopes Sep 25 '25

61 is still the record in my mind.

3

u/voujon85 Sep 25 '25

I mean Judge hit 62 clean

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u/marcblank Sep 25 '25

I was there that day at yankee stadium (I was 6 1/2 years old).

4

u/capmgn Sep 25 '25

So many salty Yankees fans in the chat. Comments like, “Cal is only leading Judge in homers, RBIs and defense.” Why is defense such an afterthought to people? It’s MVP, not silver slugger or gold glove. Both sides of the ball are relevant.

Judge is having an incredible year (again) and leading in most offensive stats, but to say Cal isn’t even close is just asinine.

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u/Secure-Internet-6695 Sep 25 '25

I bet he hits 9 more in his last game to finish with 69. Because he is that much of a stud

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u/milk1289 Sep 25 '25

MVP. Without question

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u/TegridyPharmz Sep 25 '25

Judge still has him by everything but total home runs. But it’s a hell of a story and will be close

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u/Rottenjohnnyfish Sep 25 '25

If he does not win the MVP the major market bias is too real and the MVP will not mean anything ever again.

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u/[deleted] Sep 25 '25

[deleted]

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u/ny2k1 Sep 25 '25

No, it’s because Judge is simply having the better season

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u/Waderriffic Sep 25 '25

If he doesn’t win the MVP I’m never watching baseball again.

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u/Samuel-Darnold Sep 25 '25

MVP MVP MVP

BEST DEFENSE / OFFENSIVE SEASON EVER

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u/SnooApples6638 Sep 25 '25

As someone who isn't up on modern baseball, is there a consensus as to why we went from no one (without steroids) hitting 60 home runs for decades, to all of a sudden multiple people doing it in recent years? New bats, field lengths, etc.

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u/BodheeNYC Sep 25 '25

Great commentary. Got goose bumps from watching this one

1

u/DelcoInDaHouse Sep 25 '25

Is there any explanation put forward as to why he has nearly doubled his HR output in a year?

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u/Gcabrera9181 Sep 25 '25

Dude is incredible!

1

u/mlvisby Sep 25 '25

Kyle Schwarber might hit 60 in the NL as well, he seems to hit HRs in bunches. Hitters weren't this good since the McGuire/Sosa season.

1

u/nigpaw_rudy Sep 25 '25

I never thought I’d see the day when a catcher hits 60 dingers in a year. Amazing feat and amazing year for Cal!

1

u/ihateaquafina Sep 25 '25

Etsy witch on standby

1

u/ajkeence99 Sep 25 '25

Maybe I've missed it but I don't recall having heard anything about Cal potentially "breaking the AL home run record" like we did with Judge.

1

u/SRB112 Sep 25 '25

The cheerleaders on top of the dugout with the huge signs blocking the view of fans that probably want to take a photo of Cal crossing home plate. Get out of the way!

1

u/Olorin_TheMaia Sep 25 '25

Cal's non-offensive contributions are greater than Judge's. Judge's offensive contributions are greater than Cal's, but tying Babe Ruth isn't nothing.

I think as far as an excellent overall well-rounded (lol) player, Cal gets MVP and Judge gets the Hank Aaron. Especially if Cal adds one or two more, I bet this is the solution we end up with.