Most home runs before MLB All-Star break: How Cal Raleigh's 2025 HR pace compares to Barry Bonds, other legends

Cal Raleigh has put up historic slugging numbers in the first half of the 2025 MLB season.

While the Mariners catcher's power hasn't completely come out of thin air — he hit at least 27 homers in 2022, 2023, and 2024 — Raleigh has taken his bat to another level this season. He's MLB's home run leader entering the All-Star break, and although the Midsummer Classic isn't the midway point of the season in terms of games played, it is considered the period of the season to reflect on first-half numbers.

As baseball's regular season hits pause for the All-Star festivities, Raleigh finds himself in the company of some all-time greats in terms of his homer total for the first half. Not only did Raleigh come within range of Barry Bonds' record for most dingers before the All-Star break, but he's also on pace to have one of the greatest slugging seasons ever, regardless of era or position.

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As Raleigh, a rare switch-hitting catcher, continues to blast home runs at a historic rate, he's only going to pull himself closer to setting various MLB records.

From his unreal first-half home run total, to his steady pace in potentially breaking the single-season record for home runs by a catcher, here's a breakdown of Raleigh's slugging numbers so far this season and how they stack up in MLB history.

MORE: The full 2025 Home Run Derby bracket

Most home runs before All-Star break 

With the All-Star break being the unofficial midway point of MLB's season, it's considered the benchmark for first-half performances. A very select few hitters have mashed at least 30 home runs before the All-Star break — a list that added Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Pete Alonso in recent years — but 35-plus homers before the break is an even more exclusive club.

Bonds, MLB's all-time home run king, holds the record for most homers before the All-Star break with 39. That came in 2001, when Bonds ultimately finished with the single-season record of 73 long balls.

The Orioles' Chris Davis nearly tied Bonds' first-half record in 2013, but he instead entered the break with 37 homers. Now, in 2025, Raleigh has put himself in the company of some legends with his 38 home runs before the All-Star break.

The Mariners' star already holds the record for first-half homers by a catcher, surpassing Johnny Bench's mark of 28 home runs in 1970, and he came within just one long ball of tying Bonds' record. 

Here's the list of MLB players to hit at least 35 homers in the first half of the season, a list that both Raleigh and Judge joined in 2025:

MORE: A breakdown of the longest homers in Home Run Derby history

Mariners single-season HR record: How does Cal Raleigh compare to Ken Griffey Jr.?

Seattle's single-season home run record is 56, a mark that was achieved by the same player twice: Ken Griffey Jr.

In 1997, "The Kid" put up a career-high 56 dingers along with his league-leading 147 RBIs, winning the AL MVP award. Griffey Jr. then did it again in 1998, blasting another 56 home runs while adding 146 RBIs for the Mariners. 

Raleigh's 2025 season is already up to 16th in Mariners' history in terms of single-season home runs. With a strong second half, the catcher could certainly make a push for Griffey's franchise record.

As of July 13, Raleigh was on pace to swat a total of 64 home runs this season, which would surpass Griffey Jr.'s record by eight and also set a new American League single-season record. The switch-hitter could even slow down his slugging pace in the second half and still make team history.

Here's a full look at the Mariners' single-season home runs leaders:

MORE: Odds, betting favorites for 2025 Home Run Derby

Most home runs by a catcher in a season

If Raleigh is tracking to set the new Mariners and American League single-season home run record, then he's also tracking to completely shatter MLB's single-season mark for homers by a catcher.

Widely considered the most difficult position to play due to physical requirements, owning the responsibility of calling pitches, and the defensive value between framing pitches and throwing out runners, catchers have rarely hit 40-plus home runs in a season. Their bats aren't usually as valuable as their glove, so power-hitting backstops like Raleigh don't come around often — but there have been a few notable slugging catchers through the years.

The current record for single-season homers from a catcher came just a few years ago, when the Royals' Salvador Perez mashed 48 homers in 2021 to surpass Johnny Bench's record of 45. In total, there have been just eight seasons in which a catcher hit 40-plus home runs.

With his July 13 pace of 64 homers, Raleigh is tracking to completely blow the single-season catcher record out of the water, needing just 11 to accomplish the feat.

Here's a look at the most single-season home runs by a catcher in MLB history.

MORE: 10 players who were snubbed from MLB's 2025 All-Star teams

Can Cal Raleigh break Barry Bonds' home run record?

Given his pace in potentially breaking the single-season home run records for the Mariners, American League, and catchers, it's not unfair to ask: Could Raleigh make a push for Bonds' record of 73 homers in a season?

Entering the All-Star break, the Mariners' star sits just one home run shy of where Bonds did during his mythical 2001 campaign. Bonds had 39 home runs entering the break; Raleigh has 38. In the second half, the Giants' superstar wound up hitting another 34 dingers, virtually keeping his elite home run pace intact through the rest of the 2001 season. 

Because he's already slightly behind in pace, Raleigh breaking Bonds' single-season record is going to be a significant challenge even if he continues to hit homers at the rate he did in the first half. As of July 13, Raleigh is on pace for 64 home runs, which would put him nine homers shy of Bonds' record but still tied for fifth all-time and owning the most single-season home runs since 2001.

If Raleigh's going to pull off MLB history, he isn't just going to have to continue his first-half pace — he'll have to slug at a slightly higher rate. But with the way he's been sending baseballs into the seats over the past few months, it surely doesn't seem impossible, especially if he stays on the field and plays in over 155 games.

Here's a look at MLB's all-time single-season home run leaders: