Cal Raleigh stands all alone.
Never before has a Major League Baseball player accomplished what Seattle's superstar catcher has before the All-Star break. The Mariners' backstop, in the midst of the most magical season the Pacific Northwest has seen in a long time, continues to rewrite history.
On Friday night, Raleigh went deep twice, the second a grand slam. The big blasts pushed him to 38 home runs and 81 RBI on the season.
Never before has an MLB player headed to the All-Star break with both 38-plus homers and 80-plus RBI.
Until Raleigh.
It'd be unfair to call Raleigh's season entirely improbable. He's raised his home run total each of the past three seasons. He hit 34 last year. He entered this season as clearly the best power-hitting catcher in the league.
But no one does what Raleigh is doing. Not catchers. Not anybody.
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He's only one home run behind Barry Bonds' all-time pre-All-Star record (39). Bonds put up records no one is supposed to get near. Raleigh has a couple games this weekend to match or exceed that.
He spends his nights crouching more than 100 times, blocking pitches in the dirt, taking foul balls off all parts of his body. He does it as maybe the best defensive catcher in baseball, too, having won the Platinum Glove last year.
And somehow, every time he steps into the box, Raleigh is as dangerous as any slugger on the planet.
From the left side, from the right side, it doesn't matter. Line drives, towering fly balls, all of the above.
Sometimes it can be hard to appreciate history while it's being made. Not this time.
This is magical, marvelous, magnificent. This is baseball's beauty, its majesty, its wonder.
Raleigh has lifted himself to the most incredible of heights. And it's just a joy to be along for the ride.
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