Cal Raleigh Becomes 1st Catcher to Win MLB Home Run Derby Following Historic Performance

In the semi-finals, Raleigh cruised past O’Neil Cruz with a score of 19-13 and faced off against Junior Caminero in the finals. The switch-hitter managed to put up 18 home runs in the final round.

Caminero, though, was unable to match that. The Tampa Bay Rays star managed just 15 home runs and ended up losing the final by 3 home runs.

Raleigh not only became the first catcher to win this event, but he also ended a 3-year Dominican dominance in this event.

Juan Soto won the competition in 2022 by edging out Julio Rodriguez. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then defeated Randy Arozarena in 2023 with a 25-23 score. Last season, Teoscar Hernandez won the event by winning against Bobby Witt Jr. and marked a 3rd successive Home Run Derby, which was won by a Dominican international.

Cal Raleigh comments on an old video of him singing “Home Run Derby champ” going viral after winning 2025 Home Run Derby

Some dreams do come true. Cal Raleigh completed a childhood dream of his as he won the 2025 Home Run Derby. He would later make a hilarious comment while reacting to an old video of him singing “Home Run Derby champ” at his home.

A few days ago, a 20-second clip of a young Raleigh singing “I’m the Home Run Derby champ!” went viral. While reacting to this video, the Seattle Mariners catcher was surprised to see how that video went viral. He would later call his win a “special” moment for him and his family.

The video is crazy. I mean, I don’t know where they found that thing in the archives. Yeah, just kind of surreal. You don’t think you’re going to win it. You don’t think you’ll ever get invited. Then you get invited. The fact that you win it with your family, super special. Just what a night.

Raleigh accomplished his dream by hitting 54 home runs in the three rounds. He now joins Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. as the second Mariners star to win this event.

Brent Rooker congratulates Cal Raleigh on winning the 2025 Home Run Derby after losing to him on a close call

Cal Raleigh was crowned the 2025 Home Run Derby champion after he defeated Junior Caminero in the final round. Brent Rooker, who lost out to him on a close call in the first round, would send out a congratulation message to him.

The Athletics star finished with the same number of home runs in the first round as Raleigh, with 17. It came down to a matter of inches as both of them were tied for the longest home run hit as well. 0.96 inches separated the two of them and allowed Raleigh to advance, and saw Rooker make a first-round exit.

The A’s star, who signed a $60 million contract extension earlier this year, took to his X account to make his feelings known.

What a blast! It was an honor to compete against those guys and fulfill a childhood dream. Congrats to Cal and everyone else who made it a great night! Still hard to believe I get opportunities to do things like this.

Rooker has once again been one of the top stars for the A’s this season. In the first half of the season, the 30-year-old batted with a .279 average while hitting 20 home runs and having 54 RBI. His team, on the other hand, are bottom of the standings once again with a 41-57 record.