Houston (AFP) – Cal Raleigh smashed his 57th home run of the year to break the Seattle Mariners record for homers in a season in a 6-4 victory at Houston on Saturday. The 28-year-old American broke the club mark he shared with Ken Griffey Jr., adding to a historic season in which he has captured Major League Baseball season homer records for catchers and switch-hitters.
Griffey hit 56 homers in both the 1997 and 1998 seasons for Seattle. Raleigh, this year’s MLB homer leader, smacked a no-ball, two-strike offering from Astros pitcher Framber Valdez in the third inning and blasted the ball over the right-centerfield wall.
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The triumph lifted the Mariners, who have reached the playoffs only once since 2001, to 86-69 and boosted their lead over Houston in the American League West division to two games. Raleigh could threaten the American League record for homers in a season, the 62 by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge in 2022.
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