Known as the Big Dumper, Raleigh hit 38 dingers in the first half of the MLB season. The home runs didn't stop during the All-Star break as the 6-foot-2, 235-pound catcher won the Home Run Derby on Monday in Atlanta.
Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals broke the record by a catcher with 48 home runs in 2021. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees holds the American League record for any position with 62 bombs in 2022. The second half of the season begins Friday and Raleigh is on pace to hit 64 home runs.
A decade ago Raleigh was setting home run marks in high school. As a senior at Smoky Mountain in 2015, he led the state with 10 round-trippers and 20 stolen bases while hitting .459 in 74 at-bats.
Raleigh hit .387 over his three-year career as the Mustangs reached the playoffs each season.
The backstop also pitched and threw 85 innings in his career with a 3.79 ERA. His best season on the mound came as a junior when he recorded a 1.67 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 37.1 frames.
Raleigh was a star on the basketball court. Three times he was named all-conference as the Mustangs went 79-8 with two trips to the state semifinals over that span. Raleigh averaged 21 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game as a senior.
After high school Raleigh played baseball at Florida State before hearing his name called in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft. He spent about three years in the minor leagues before getting called up to Seattle in 2021. That season he hit two home runs in 139 at-bats.
He took off in 2022 by hitting 27 home runs as the Mariners clinched a playoff spot on a Raleigh walk-off homer late in September. In his first ever playoff at-bat, he launched a home run against All-Star Alek Manoah of Toronto.
The power improved with 30 home runs in 2023 and 34 in 2024.
This season Raleigh had the most home runs before the All-Star break since Barry Bonds hit 39 in 2001. He didn't get off to a fast start in 2025 and had just two home runs through the Mariners first 13 games of the season. From there, his bat caught fire by hitting six home runs in six games.
On May 30 against the Minnesota Twins, Raleigh launched his 20th home run of the season. The bomb was a three-run shot off
Zebby Matthews, who was a freshman teammate of Raleigh's at Smoky Mountain during the slugger's senior season.
By the end of June, the catcher was up to 33 home runs.
Raleigh's success earned him a trip to the Home Run Derby. His 15-year-old brother
Todd Raleigh Jr. was his catcher for the event and is a high school athlete himself. As a freshman at
Strong Rock Christian (Locust Grove, Ga.) in the 2024-25 school year, he averaged 10.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game with a big 24-point, 20-rebound performance in December. Also on the baseball team, Raleigh Jr. helped the Patriots reach the second round of the playoffs.
Their father Todd Raleigh Sr. was the pitcher during the home run derby and a three-sport star in high school at
Missisquoi Valley (Swanton, Vt.). He was a 1,200 point scorer in basketball, an all-state soccer player and a two-time state champ in baseball.
Raleigh Sr. went on to play baseball at Western Carolina and later became the head coach at his alma mater for eight seasons. In 2008 he was named the head coach at the University of Tennessee, a post he held until 2011.
Two of Cal's sisters also saw great athletic success as Division I volleyball players. Emma Raleigh played for Bradley while Carley Raleigh was at Mercer and now plays at Lincoln Memorial.
While Cal goes for home run history, the Mariners are looking to get back to the postseason and hold a 1.5-game lead over Tampa Bay for the final wild card spot.
