The Year of Big Dumper | Baseball Bits

TL;DR

Cal Raleigh hit 60 home runs in 2025 by perfecting a symmetrical switch-hitting swing that turned his biggest weakness into his greatest strength.

Key Points

• 1.Raleigh's 60 HRs set records as the most by a catcher (beating Perez's 48 in 2021), most by a switch-hitter (beating Mantle's 1961 mark), and most by a Mariner (beating Griffey Jr.)
• 2.His breakthrough came from simplifying his right-handed swing to mirror his left-handed swing, earning a 96.3% swing similarity score — highest among all 2025 switch-hitters — which let him crush inside fastballs he previously couldn't handle
• 3.Raleigh hit 22 HR as a right-handed hitter facing lefties, an all-time switch-hitter record, and his consistency rivaled Mark McGwire's 1998 season — his worst month was still 8 HR, and his longest homerless streak was just 8 games
• 4.He nearly single-handedly kept Seattle afloat in the first half, producing +33 runs above average while the rest of the lineup was at -18, buying time for deadline acquisitions like Josh Naylor and Arozarena
• 5.Raleigh's 9 HRs over the final 17 games, including 2 in the clincher, powered Seattle's first division title since 2001, overthrowing Houston after their seven consecutive AL West titles
• 6.Despite losing the AL MVP to Aaron Judge (17 of 30 first-place votes), Raleigh's season ranked among the greatest ever for a catcher, comparable to Buster Posey (2012) and Johnny Bench (1972) by WAR