Judge vs. Raleigh: Who Will Dominate the Home Run Race?!
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The Yankees-Mariners series is heating up as power hitters Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh face off! Both players are vying for the American League home run crown, making this a crucial series for postseason positioning. The Yankees and Mariners are neck-and-neck in the wild-card race, separated by a single game, adding extra intensity to each at-bat.
The Home Run Leaderboard: A Two-Horse Race?
Currently, Shohei Ohtani leads MLB with 30 home runs, followed by Eugenio Suárez (28) and Kyle Schwarber (27). However, when it comes to the American League, Judge and Raleigh are in a league of their own. No other AL player has surpassed Riley Greene's 22 homers, putting Judge and Raleigh significantly ahead of the competition.
It seems increasingly likely that the AL home run leader will be either Raleigh or Judge, barring unforeseen circumstances like injuries or a dramatic drop in performance.
Cal Raleigh's Historic Season
Cal Raleigh is having a truly remarkable season, not just "for a catcher," but overall. His power hitting is exceptional, and his position makes it even more noteworthy. Only 19 times in MLB history has a catcher hit 35 home runs in a season, and Raleigh has already reached that milestone in early July. Even if he doesn't hit another home run this year, this season would still be considered one of the greatest offensive performances by a catcher ever.
Raleigh's 35 homers are six more than any other catcher before the All-Star break and five more than any other switch-hitter before the break. He even has an outside shot at matching or breaking Barry Bonds' record of 39 home runs before the All-Star break. Judge is also on pace to potentially challenge this record.
Chasing Records
Both Raleigh and Judge are currently ahead of Judge's 2022 home run pace, when he set the AL's single-season record with 62 home runs. With both the Mariners and Yankees having played 90 games, the race is on to see who will emerge as the home run king this season!