Cal Raleigh on pace to break American League record set by Aaron Judge

In 2022, New York Yankees’ historic slugger Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs, breaking the previous American League record of 61 which stood for 61 years, set by Yankee legend Roger Maris in 1961. In the history of the game, only three players have mashed more home runs in a single season: Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire (twice), and Sammy Sosa (three times), all with the National League.

At that point, Judge had already slugged his way into the record books, accumulating 52 home runs in 2017 to claim the rookie record, swiping it from McGwire. However, before the shine could wear off his rookie home run crown, it was taken by Pete Alonso, who notched 53 in 2019.

When Judge reached a home run total that hadn’t been seen in 21 years (never in the AL), it was reasonable to assume that it would be a mark that would stand on its own for a while, unless of course Judge outdid himself. However, one catcher is yelling, “Not so fast!”

Fresh of his victory in the 2025 Home Run Derby, Seattle Mariners’ backstop Cal Raleigh is aiming to add another home run trophy to his mantle. Having hit 38 home runs already in the first half, The Big Dumper is on pace to hit 64 home runs on the year. In fact, throughout all baseball history, only one player hit more home runs prior to the All-Star break, that being Barry Bonds with 39 in 2001. Raleigh stands alone in second.

With 66 games left to go, Raleigh is 24 long balls short of tying Judge, 25 short of breaking the AL record. But just because a player is on pace to do something doesn’t mean they wind up doing it. Raleigh is on pace to hit 64, but a two home-run margin of victory doesn’t leave much room for error. And now that we’re heading into the home stretch, it might be reasonable to expect players to fall out of midseason form, though of course, this doesn’t always happen to every player.

Whether or not he does experience a second-half slowdown, Raleigh has already had a season for the books; but if he’s going to top Judge, he’s going to need to keep up the hot pace. Even a small drop in his home run rate could leave him below the fabled mark.