Cal Raleigh's home run count for catchers in a single season ranks third in history, just five away from breaking the record.

Ichiro Suzuki has often told his former teammates that if this Japanese outfielder aimed to be a power hitter rather than just accumulate the most hits in baseball history, he could have been one of the greatest power hitters of all time.

Cal Raleigh wants to be a power hitter. On the day the Mariners retired Ichiro Suzuki's number 51 jersey, he showcased his strength, continuing one of the most explosive power displays by a catcher in baseball history.

In today's game, where the Mariners defeated the Rays 7-4, Raleigh came to bat for the second time against Joe Boyle, connecting with Boyle's first pitch fastball at 99.6 mph and launching it into left-center field for his 44th home run of the season. This moved him past Javy Lopez on the all-time list for catchers' home runs in a single season, claiming third place, with 43 games left in the regular season.

This was the farthest home run Raleigh has hit against the fastest pitching in his career.

“To be able to maintain his hitting point against such fast velocity and drive the ball into the bullpen is truly remarkable,” said head coach Dan Wilson. “That was an outstanding at-bat. When you can hit the ball like that to the opposite field, your swing has to be doing a lot of things right. It was a great at-bat, a fantastic swing, and it brought us a great result.”

Raleigh's next target on the list is Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, who hit 45 home runs in 1970. Salvador Perez currently holds the record for home runs in a single season by a catcher with 48 in 2021.

Before July arrived this season, Raleigh broke Bench's catcher home run record set before the All-Star break with his 29th home run (also in the '70 season). Shortly before that, Bench expressed his admiration for Raleigh in an interview with USA Today.

“Big Papi” finished the first half of the season with 38 home runs, second only to Barry Bonds' 39 in his historic 2001 season.

However, after the All-Star break—and his victory in the Home Run Derby—Raleigh's performance dipped, and before Friday night's series opener against Tampa Bay, his batting line was 15 hits in 77 at-bats, with a batting average of just .195.

Then, he hit his 43rd home run in the eighth inning, arguably the most dramatic of his season, leading the Mariners to a comeback victory. Saturday's 44th home run was a sign that the slump might be over.

This also put Raleigh back on his historic pace.

In 1970, Bench hit his 44th home run on September 10—Cincinnati's 145th game of the season. Perez also reached 44 home runs in the 145th game of the Royals. When Ken Griffey Jr. hit 56 home runs in 1997 and 1998, he hit his 44th in the Mariners' 137th and 129th games, respectively. Raleigh leads them all, as Saturday was only the Mariners' 118th game of the year.

Julio Rodríguez didn't let his teammate have all the fun, hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to open the scoring for the Mariners, and following Raleigh's home run with another one on the next pitch, making the score 6-1. His second home run was a powerful line drive to the left-field corner, clearing the home run fence in 3.28 seconds, the shortest hang time for a home run in the majors this year and the second-shortest in Mariners' history since Statcast began tracking in 2015.

“When he hits the ball on the sweet spot, it rockets off to somewhere,” Wilson said. “... He’s seeing the ball really well and has an excellent hitting approach.”

This victory for the Mariners—marking their eighth win in nine games since welcoming Eugenio Suárez back a day before the trade deadline—narrowed the gap with the Astros in the AL West race to 0.5 games and tied them with the Red Sox for the AL Wild Card spot.

The Mariners will conclude their three-game home series next Monday, aiming for a second consecutive sweep and the chance to reclaim the division lead for the first time since June 1, when T-Mobile Park is likely to be filled to capacity again.

“It’s amazing,” Rodríguez said. “It happened last night when Cal hit that home run, and we took the lead, and it happened again today. It’s that energy. I feel like energy is a very special factor for our game. The energy the fans have brought lately feels really special. I just keep encouraging everyone to keep doing that because when we have it, we seem to play better.”