If a hitter can match anything that Barry Bonds did in 2001, that’s an incredible feat.
That’s the season Bonds hit 73 home runs. And on Saturday, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh just matched something Bonds did that year.
Bonds was the most recent player to have 30-plus home runs through his team’s first 75 games played. That is, until Raleigh reached that feat at Wrigley Field on Saturday with a ninth-inning blast.
There were actually two guys who did it in 2001, when Luis Gonzalez also did so for the Diamondbacks.
Others to have accomplished this slugging stat: 1999 Sammy Sosa, 1998 Mark McGwire, 1998 Sammy Sosa, 1994 Ken Griffey Jr., 1969 Reggie Jackson, 1961 Roger Maris, 1930 Babe Ruth, 1928 Babe Ruth, 1921 Babe Ruth.
Those stats are all courtesy of MLB Network’s Sarah Langs.
MORE: Cal Raleigh breaks Johnny Bench’s 55-year MLB record in catcher history
If you need this summed up: Raleigh is having one of the best home run hitting seasons in the history of baseball.
There are no guarantees he keeps the pace up, but man, right now, who would bet against it?
The only thing working against Raleigh is the natural wear-and-tear that comes from being a catcher. No one else on that list is a catcher.
But he’s also an uber-powerful, consistent, switch-hitting beast. He may just keep this up.
If Raleigh didn’t reach 50 homers at this point, it’d be a disappointment. And he’s got an outside chance at chasing 60.
It’s a magical time for the Mariners catcher, that’s for sure.
MORE MLB NEWS:
